Handgun access ludicrous: PM

AAP ^ | Wednesday November 6, 03:12 PM

[michaelje]

Handgun access ludicrous: PM

It was ludicrous that ordinary people in Australia should have access to handguns, Prime Minister John Howard said.

Mr Howard said he supported the concept of police, security industry workers and sporting shooters having such weapons.

"But other than that you don't need a handgun, and I think most people would agree with that," he told Adelaide radio station 5DN.

"It's just ludicrous that people should have access, and a lot of them do. The rules are too lax."

Mr Howard said he did not want to see Australia go down the American path where guns were "worshipped".

"That has brought untold misery and harm and also delivered to America a very high murder rate for a stable, open western society," he said.

Mr Howard also pointed to independent research which indicated that the number of gun-related murders in Australia had fallen in the six years since the prohibition on long arms in the wake of the Port Arthur massacre.

"They are measured claims I make," he said.

"I'm not pretending that we can abolish evil and unhappiness by getting rid of guns.

"But I do think we can make a contribution towards a safer Australia and I do think we have a capacity to avoid going down the American path."

Last month's double fatality shooting at Monash University in Melbourne has prompted the federal government to move to restrict access to high-powered pistols, proposing a buyback scheme and amnesty for owners of illegal weapons.

[elbucko]

"I'm not pretending that we can abolish evil and unhappiness by getting rid of guns.

No, but you are pretending that the evil and unhappy won't shoot the good and happy, that you have made defenseless. Your kind of pretense, that criminals will obey your law, is a measure of your passionate ignorance and indicative of your contempt for your fellow man.

[BSunday]

It was ludicrous that ordinary people in Australia Germany should have access to handguns, Prime Minister John Howard said.

[coloradan]

It was ludicrous that ordinary people in Australia should have access to handguns, Prime Minister John Howard said.

Caste system alert: the peasants should be disarmed, says the king.

[BSunday]

Dang HTML! Disregard my last post please

[coloradan]

It was ludicrous that ordinary people in Australia Germany should have access to handguns, Prime Minister John Howard Chancellor Adolf Hitler said.

[coloradan]

indexing

[michaelje]

The peasants.

[BSunday]

This is what I really wanted to say:

It was ludicrous that ordinary people in Australia Germany should have access to handguns, Prime Minister John Howard Chancellor Adolf Hitler said.

[eyes_only]

Now that makes sense... Thank you

[joesnuffy]

Mr Howard said he did not want to see Australia go down the American path where guns were "worshipped".

He would have them go down the toltalitarian path where lord Howard is worshiped Or down the path of Zimbabwe or down the path of Communist China
Where satan or the state are worshiped...
Hey Dorkwad...Americans worship "The" God. Come on you remember doncha? (before you sold your soul)..The one True God..of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and His Son Jesus Christ......not guns..we dont worship guns...

Guns are tools to defend ones life and the lives of one's family and neighbors...come in real handy against muslim rapists and murderers when they terrorize ones country..and against tyrants..like the king of England..

The stuff free men own...

Criminals banished to a British penal colony dont esteem to such things I guess

..Choosing Instead To Be Ruled by the KAPOs of the Empire..IM (bloody) Opinon

Funny ...muslims from Australia bombed a hotel full of Australians in Bali and their "Fearless Leader" bans handguns from honest tax paying citizens many who are also veterans who would defend their homes...

What a nasty little "full of himself" Ty Runt Mr. Howard is...

[zingzang]

Well said. Is the US the last nation where gun control hasn't run amok? Have we become an island surrounded by these mental midgets who strive to take away our right to rise up and kill them all if they get out of control?? I hope we can hold out. The current political situation gives us a little breathing room, but not much.

[portcullis]

Prime Minister Howard says-'Only police and security guards need handguns. Ordinary People have NO need for them AT ALL.

[RogueIsland]

Mr Howard said he did not want to see Australia go down the American path where guns were "worshipped".

Does this mean if I moved to Australia I'd have to get rid of my shrine to John Moses Browning?

[BikerTrash]

I'm not pretending that we can abolish evil and unhappiness by getting rid of guns.

He's right. Only abolishing freedom sucking parasites will accomplish these goals.

[aeronca]

"It was ludicrous that ordinary people in Australia should have access to handguns"

Mr Howard, please keep your diseased thinking on your side of the ocean. By the way, you bare your a$$ to the world when you think you know what American's worship. Have a nice day disarming your "subjects".

Note to ordinary people in Australia:

Your Prime Minister (who is surrounded by armed security) would rather see you murdered than to allow you the means to defend your own life. Be afraid, be very afraid.

[Flint]

When I was in my 20's, I had a dream of packing up and moving to Austraila. At that time it was hyped as the last great frontier left in the world. Freedom from government meddling in your life. It was akin to our country in the late 1800's, early 1900's. You could get a fresh start and make a life for yourself, only limited by how hard you wanted to work for it. What a dissapointment that would have been, had I followed through.