PM shuns US 'slavish love of guns'

ninemsn ^ | Mar 1, 2006 | NA

[neverdem]

Prime Minister John Howard says he tightened gun laws after the Port Arthur massacre because he did not want Australia going down the same path as the United States.

Mr Howard, on the eve of his 10th anniversary in office, said the nation's grief over the 1996 Port Arthur massacre had been a great opportunity to tighten Australia's gun laws.

"I would call that very definitely an extraordinary outpouring of amazement and grief in this country and I knew out of that there was an opportunity to grab the moment and think about a fundamental change to gun laws in this country," he told the Nine Network.

Mr Howard said he did not want Australia to adopt the American stance on guns.

"I did not want Australia to go down the American path," he said.

"There are some things about America I admire and there are some things I don't.

"And one of the things I don't admire about America is their ... slavish love of guns. They're evil."

[Fred Nerks]

FROM THE E-MAIL WRITTEN BY THE AUSTRALIAN POLICEMAN WHOSE NAME IS E CHENEL:

In the state of Victoria alone, homicides with firearms are now up 300 percent.

FROM THE NRA NEWSLETTER LINK:

But the truth is, gun death rates ARE already tiny in Australia—less than 100 firearms homicides yearly for the whole country.

HELLO! CAN YOU DO THE MATH? FIRE-ARMS HOMICIDES INCLUDE IDIOTS THAT SHOOT EACH OTHER HUNTING! (OR COMMIT SUICIDE)

[Fred Nerks]

Sharp Drop in Gun Crime Follows Tough Australian Firearm Laws

---

February, 2000
Sharp Drop in Gun Crime Follows Tough Australian Firearm Laws

Latest official data from Australia shows a marked reduction in gun-related crime and injury following recent restrictions on the private ownership of firearms.

Twelve days after 35 people were shot dead by a single gunman in Tasmania, Australia's state and federal governments agreed to enact wide-ranging new gun control laws to curb firearm-related death and injury. Between July 1996 and August 1998, the new restrictions were brought into force. Since that time, key indicators for gun-related death and crime have shown encouraging results.

Firearm-Related Homicide

"There was a decrease of almost 30% in the number of homicides by firearms from 1997 to 1998."

-- Australian Crime - Facts and Figures 1999. Australian Institute of Criminology. Canberra, Oct 1999

This report shows that as gun ownership has been progressively restricted since 1915, Australia's firearm homicide rate per 100,000 population has declined to almost half its 85-year average.

Homicide by Any Method

The overall rate of homicide in Australia has also dropped to its lowest point since 1989 (National Homicide Monitoring Program, 1997-98 data). It remains one-fourth the homicide rate in the USA.

The Institute of Criminology report Australian Crime - Facts and Figures 1999 includes 1998 homicide data showing "a 9% decrease from the rate in 1997." This is the period in which most of the country's new gun laws came into force.

Gun-Related Death by Any Cause

The Australian Bureau of Statistics counts all injury deaths, whether or not they are crime-related. The most recently available ABS figures show a total of 437 firearm-related deaths (homicide, suicide and unintentional) for 1997. This is the lowest number for 18 years.

The Australian rate of gun death per 100,000 population remains one-fifth that of the United States.

"We have observed a decline in firearm-related death rates (essentially in firearm-related suicides) in most jurisdictions in Australia. We have also seen a declining trend in the percentage of robberies involving the use of firearms in Australia."

-- Mouzos, J. Firearm-related Violence: The Impact of the Nationwide Agreement on Firearms. Trends & Issues in Crime & Criminal Justice No. 116. Australian Institute of Criminology. Canberra, May 1999; 6

Assault and Robbery

Those who claim that Australia suffered a "crime wave" as a result of new gun laws often cite as evidence unrelated figures for common assault or sexual assault (no weapon) and armed robbery (any weapon). In fact less than one in five Australian armed robberies involve a firearm.

"Although armed robberies increased by nearly 20%, the number of armed robberies involving a firearm decreased to a six-year low."

-- Recorded Crime, Australia, 1998. Australian Bureau of Statistics, Jun 1999

Firearm-Related Crime in Tasmania

"A declining firearm suicide rate, a declining firearm assault rate, a stable firearm robbery rate with a declining proportion of robberies committed with a firearm and a declining proportion of damage to property offences committed with a firearm suggest that firearm regulation has been successful in Tasmania."

-- Warner, Prof K. Firearm Deaths and Firearm Crime After Gun Licensing in Tasmania. Australian Institute of Criminology, 3rd National Outlook Symposium on Crime in Australia. Canberra, 22-23 Mar 1999.

Curbing Gun Proliferation in Australia

In the 1996-97 Australian gun buy-back, two-thirds of a million semi-automatic and pump-action rifles and shotguns were sold to the government at market value. Thousands more gun owners volunteered their firearms for free, and nearly 700,000 guns were destroyed.

By destroying one-seventh of its estimated stock of firearms (the equivalent figure in the USA would be 30 million), Australia has significantly altered the composition of its civilian arsenal.

In addition, all remaining guns must be individually registered to their licensed owners, private firearm sales are no longer permitted and each gun purchase through a licensed arms dealer is scrutinised by police to establish a "genuine reason" for ownership. Possession of guns for self-defence is specifically prohibited, and very few civilians are permitted to own a handgun. All the nation's governments, police forces and police unions support the current gun laws.

Other Countries

Similar reductions in gun death and injury have been noted in several countries whose gun controls have been recently tightened.

In Canada, where new gun laws were introduced in 1991 and 1995, the number of gun deaths has reached a 30-year low.

Two years ago in the United Kingdom, civilian handguns were banned, bought back from their owners and destroyed. In the year following the law change, Scotland recorded a 17% drop in all firearm-related offences. The British Home Office reports that in the nine months following the handgun ban, firearm-related offences in England and Wales dropped by 13%.

A British citizen is still 50 times less likely to be a victim of gun homicide than an American.

[Fred Nerks]

See #122 you evil thing you.

[litehaus]

"just 1 won't do"....Ask MOST gun owners...THAT'S right!

[Levante]

"When rampant, fulminating jihadism reaches critical mass, perhaps he will repent of his actions."

Maybe not. After all, violent crime doesn't touch him. He, along with other government officials, are protected day and night by men with guns. Hypocrite.

[Dr.Zoidberg]

I have read about that gibbering idiot Rebecca Peters before, but not this LaPierre piece on the fool.

I'll bookmark it and read it in parts so I don't hurl on my keyboard. I have a weak stomach where idiocy is concerned.

[muawiyah]

Oh, you mean the Prime Minister who brought the current crime wave down on his people isn't in prison already?

Gee, my bad.

[muawiyah]

Yeah, Aussies go to Indonesia to get murdered these days.

[Fred Nerks]

Read #122.

[Fred Nerks]

"Yeah, Aussies go to Indonesia to get murdered these days."

This is your brain on substance abuse.

[muawiyah]

Fred, you are comparing apples and oranges. Let's see your data for North Dakota vs. United Kingdom.

Bet UK's knife death rate is outrageously higher than ND's.

Unless you control for education, history, and a variety of other variables of significance, you really aren't providing us with any meaningful information.

[muawiyah]

BTW, Fred, that book (Sell) that you refer to, neglected to mention that the Dark Ages in Spain were pretty brutal.

They were brought to an end by the Moors.

The rest of Europe continued on in intellectual and moral darkness for 4 more centuries.

I'm surprised you didn't know about the Dark Ages.

[Fred Nerks]

See # 122. It's official. I have nothing more to provide.

[muawiyah]

Fred, baby, it may be "official" but it's meaningless.

Did it ever occur to you that there are some very good reasons ~ millions of them in fact ~ for why we love our guns?

[Fred Nerks]

Umayyad, also Omayyad, first great Arab Muslim dynasty of caliphs (religious and secular leaders) founded by Muawiyah I in 661 and lasting until 750. Uthman ibn Affan, a member of the prominent Umayyad family of Mecca, had been elected to the caliphate in 644 to succeed Umar I, but his weakness and nepotism resulted in rebellion and he was murdered in 656. Uthman was succeeded by Ali, son-in-law of the prophet Muhammad and chief of the legitimist party, which believed that only a member of Muhammad's family could rightfully hold the caliphate. However, Muawiyah I, governor of Syria and first Umayyad caliph, revolted against Ali and, supported by Amr, the conqueror of Egypt, gained the advantage. Hailed as caliph at Jerusalem in 660, Muawiyah I was in complete control soon after the assassination of Ali the following year. Under Muawiyah I the capital was changed from Medina to Damascus. Muawiyah I developed an administrative system modeled after the Byzantine Empire and before his death in 680 had secured the throne for his son, thus putting the state on a dynastic basis. Conquest was begun again with an offensive on all fronts. Under Muawiyah I and his Umayyad successors, Muslim control of the Mediterranean region was completed. The Arabs, led by a fierce North African Berber army commanded by Tariq, crossed from North Africa and eventually conquered Spain; in the east they met no effective opposition until they had passed the borders of India. They were stopped in the west by the Franks under Charles Martel and by the Byzantine Empire, which repulsed an attack on Constantinople early in the 8th century.

MUAWIYAH.

[muawiyah]

Yes, that fellow was, for his time, a veritable Thomas Jefferson when it came to figuring out how to govern a large, far-flung country, and what the place of civil government must be even if half the folks running around are in thrall to preachers.

He ended the Dark Ages in his part of the world. Even the Chinese had another century and a half to go.

[fightu4it]

" he did not want Australia going down the same path as the United States."

Is this guy related to King George III ?

[Dark Skies]

I'm a Georgian. Even sissies like guns around here. Most folks (including Gramma's) can hit a target near the center at 50' with a large caliber revolver. IIRC, Georgia was the last state to outlaw dueling (and I can't imagine it ceased because it was against the law). There hasn't been a shooting arooound here in a very long time...there hasn't been an armed robbery in memory.

I only have a .357 Ruger and a 22 rifle (for sharp shootin'). I have been thinking of a higher caliber rifle of the sniper quality (with a scope).

And just like my Grand-dad, I keep my pistol under by pillow.

[Steel Wolf]

A British citizen is still 50 times less likely to be a victim of gun homicide than an American.

What's a British citizen going to do when his government turns oppressive? Guns aren't about public safety, they're about maintaining checks and balances between the people and their government. If there's any single lesson to be gained from the 20th century, it's that a disarmed populace is utterly helpess against a tyrant.

Other Western countries have the option to disarm, because America will always be there to bail them out. We don't have that luxury. No one's riding to our rescue if we fall to totalitarianism.

So, enjoy your unpaid for freedoms, while they last.

[Dark Skies]

Compliments on your tag line...mine is of the same spirit!