Michael: I don't know if this has been posted here before but it's well worth reading.
AUSTRALIA: The Results Are In
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The following is a synopsis of an interview conducted by Ginny
Simone with Keith Tidswell of Australia's Sporting Shooters
Association. The entire interview is available as "Surprise,
Surprise" in the "Archive News" section of:
nralive.com
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One year after gun-owners were forced to surrender 640,381
personal firearms to be destroyed, including semiautomatic
.22 rifles and shotguns, a program costing the government
over 500 million dollars, the results are in...
A dramatic increase in criminal activity has been experienced.
Gun control advocates respond "Just wait ... we'll be safer ... you'll
see...."
OBSERVABLE FACT, AFTER 12 MONTHS OF DATA:
* Australia-wide, homicides are up 3.2%
* Australia-wide, assaults are up 8.6%
* Australia-wide, armed-robberies are up 44% (yes, FORTY-FOUR
PERCENT)
* In the state of Victoria, homicides-with-firearms are up
300%
* Figures over the previous 25 years show a steady decrease in
homicides-with-firearms (changed dramatically in the past 12
months)
* Figures over the previous 25 years show a steady decrease in
armed-robbery-with-firearms (changed dramatically in the past
12 months)
* There has been a dramatic increase in breakins-and-assaults-of-
the-elderly
* At the time of the ban, the Prime Minister said "self-defense
is not a reason for owning a firearm"
* From 1910 to present, homicides in Australia had averaged about
1.8-per-100,000 or lower, a safe society by any standard.
* The ban has destroyed Australia's standings in some international
sport shooting competitions
* The membership of the Australian Sports Shooting Association
has risen to 112,000, a 200% increase, in response to the ban and
as an attempt to organize against further controls, which are
expected.
* Australian politicians are on the spot and at a loss to explain
how no improvement in "safety" has been observed after such
monumental effort and expense was successfully expended in
"ridding society of guns". Their response has been to "wait
longer".
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"...The best organization you've got there, the biggest
organization you've got there is the NRA. We don't have
an organization that size. We didn't have an organization
that size, and as a consequence, we suffered. And we hope
that you don't suffer..."
Keith Tidswell
Sporting Shooter's Association
It's important to keep in mind that there are a number of countries with more guns per populace than the U.S. without the associated crimes we experience. There are also countries with fewer guns with more crimes than we experience on a per capita basis. Great Britain for one. It's now reported that over 60% of the home burglaries in GB are while the residents are still home and home invasion robberies are increasing dramatically. The criminals don't have a care in the world. They don't bother 'casing' their targets because they know they won't have to face a gun. They don't even need guns, even though they have them, because they know they will almost always be willing to be more physically violent than their victims in taking their property. That's why Colt called his six shooters "The Great Equalizer". Once the genie's out of the bottle you'll never put it back in. Guns will always be with us. The criminals will always be able to get them, no matter what the "law" says.
halfscot |
