Because farms never have any tree stumps, you know.
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 6.2 percent, Australia-wide, assaults are up 9.6 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, while the resident is at home.
>
> 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 on
> the American evening news or hear your governor or members of the
> State Assembly disseminating this information.
>
> The Australian experience speaks for itself. 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 too late!
>
> FORWARD TO EVERYONE ON YOUR EMAIL LIST. [I DID ]
> DON'T BE A MEMBER OF THE SILENT MAJORITY.
> BE ONE OF THE VOCAL MINORITY WHO WON'T LET THIS HAPPEN IN THE U.S.A