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Conservatives can easily make the case that gun control is a mistake without resorting to using misleading statistics and then attacking those who [correctly] point out the problems inherent in said use. What I find remarkable is the number of people posting here who actually accept false analysis by Snopes. I find it interesting the no one here commented on the fact that the link for in this passage does not exist. " Criminology (AIC) reveals that the overall homicide rate in Australia has changed little over the past decade and actually dipped slightly after the 1997 gun buy-back program. How can you come to a conclusion about the Snopes article without facts to back them up? My proposed revised Snopes article: 1) The Australian Firearms Act 1996 banned all private ownership of machine and sub-machine guns; self-loading rim-fire rifles; self-loading centre-fire rifles; self-loading shotguns; and pump action shotguns. This required these firearms to surrendered to authorities. Those possessing a firearms licence may not own any of the banned items including pistols. This effectively limits ownership of most firearm types. 2) The rationale behind the law is nested in this 1994 factiod. It is clear from this analysis that, overwhelmingly, the problem of firearm deaths results from intentional acts of violence, most commonly self-inflicted. It is also clear that males, through their disproportionate involvement in such incidents, are the main group to be targeted by prevention programs. 3) Since the 1996, gun violence has increased despite it being illegal to own these prohibited firearms. Australia's Data from the national Recorded Crime Australia data collection : a) A person was more likely to be a victim of a crime where a firearm was used in 2001 than in 1995, with the exception of murder. A firearm was the predominant weapon type for kidnappings/abductions in 2001, and a person was four times more likely to be a victim of a kidnapping/abduction involving a firearm in 2001 than in 1995. However, since 1995 there was a greater increase in the likelihood of being confronted by a weapon other than a firearm for attempted murder (54% increase), assault (67% increase) and robbery (145% increase). b) The decrease in weapon use for murders has not been evident for attempted murders, with the victimisation rate based on use of weapon 58% higher in 2001 than 1995. The proportion of kidnappings/abductions where a weapon was used increased markedly in 1999-2001 compared with previous years. c) The assault victimisation rate increased by 44% from 563 to 810 per 100,000 population between 1995 and 2002 Gun grabbers would be bragging if this grand experiment was showing results in the time that has elapsed since in 1996. However, the Gun Law of 1996 has yielded few changes on crime stats in Australia.