yay for Australia!!!

[sanchezero]

from the HK forums...

quote:

From: Ed Chenel, a police officer in Australia.

Hi Yanks, I thought you all would like to see the real figures from Down Under. It has now been 12 months since gun owners in Australia were forced by a new law to surrender 640,381 personal firearms to be destroyed by our own government, a program costing Australia taxpayers more than $500 million dollars.The first year results are now in: Australia-wide, homicides are up 3.2 percent, Australia-wide, assaults are up 8.6 percent; Australia-wide, armed robberies are up 44 percent (yes, 44 percent)! In the state of Victoria alone, homicides with firearms are now up 300 percent. (Note that while the law-abiding citizens turned them in, the criminals did not and criminals still possess their guns!) While figures over the previous 25 years showed a steady decrease in armed robbery with firearms, this has changed drastically upward in the past 12 months, since the criminals now are guaranteed that their prey is unarmed.There has also been a dramatic increase in break-ins and assaults of the elderly. Australian politicians are at a loss to explain how public safety has decreased, after such monumental effort and expense was expended in "successfully ridding Australian society of guns." You won't see this data on the American evening news or hear your governor or members of the state Assembly disseminating this information.The Australian experience proves it. Guns in the hands of honest citizens save lives and property and, yes, gun-control laws affect only the law-abiding citizens. Take note Americans, before it's to late!

endquote.

feel free to ditch this if its redundant.

 

[gryphon]

I thought that I saw this on another forum. I believe that it has been found as either a 'net hoax and/or the statistics are unprovable.

 

[Blackhawk]

Australian politicians are at a loss to explain how public safety has decreased, after such monumental effort and expense was expended in "successfully ridding Australian society of guns."

Dunno if it's a hoax, but that sentence is priceless!

 

[fallingblock]

Dunno if it's a hoax.....

but it's six years out of date. The article refers to the 'gun buy-back' of 1997.
As to whether the Australian government has learned anything from the experience...

We're having another 'compensated confiscation' beginning in mid-2003, this one for all revolvers with under 100mm barrels, autoloading pistols under 120mm and magazine capacity of more than 10 (gee, wonder where they got that criterion?) and most handguns of a greater calibre than .38.:banghead:

I'd say the lesson(s) they learned were:
1. that the liberal media here will praise them
2. there are too few shooters to resist effectively politically
3. there won't be any positive effect on firearms crime, but so..?
4. Little Johnny will be waiting for the next 'opportunity' to ban
even more of the guns he "hates".

It could be that Australian politicians are more stupid/arrogant than most...or that they just have a gullible population to work with

 

[G-Raptor]

While some may quibble about the numbers, the point is valid and the point has been made in both Australia and Britain.

"When you outlaw guns, only the outlaws will have guns."

The only thing scarier than that is when the government has them all.