Shannow Posted February 26, 2011 Report Share Posted February 26, 2011 Hi guys, have been asked to post it here as well.BackgroundWhen I was a kid, I wanted to be a gunsmith, and a good one. Got my first .22 (Krico) at age 15.At the time, almost anything was legal, although to own an SLR in the most of the states, you had to be a professional culler of vermin (wild cattle etc.)...Queensland and Tasmania allowed ownership of SLRs and AR15s. The other states stopped at SKS etc.Personal Protection has never been considered a "Genuine Reason" to own a firearm, all applications were to be "sporting" (unless you are rich and famous, and there's another set of laws).At the time, the then Premier of NSW was pushing for a complete and utter ban of all privately owned firearms. He took it to an election, and got annihilated ... His made a speech in 1987, which included the line "There will never be National Firearm Laws until there is a massacre in Tasmania"Decided not to be a gunsmith, and chose a career that I thought at the time I could least retire from.In 1996, about 6 weeks after Britain's Dunblane Massacre, I was driving, and listening to the radio, when news came across of a massacre at Port Arthur in Tasmania, with 35 people killed. Said to my Mrs, who was in the car..."There goes private gun ownership"Massacre was allegedly performed by a bloke called Martin Bryant, a scarcely functioning mental deficient, one of whose alleged weapons was an AR15 which had been handed in to the Police in an amnesty in another state some years prior. In approximately a minute with this rifle, he killed 20 people, 19 head shots, wounded 12 others, firing from the hip, in an enclosed building sans hearing protection...and 29 shots fired(*)National outrage of course.Thousands of pages of legislation were wheeled out within weeks, much of it must have been waiting in the wings given the timeliness.Prime Minister "met" sporting shooters, wearing a bullet proof vest (illegal to own in the country), and we got rolled.All semi-auto longarms illegal, all pump shotguns illegal. Oz' famous gun buyback took place, a 0.2% tax placed on every worker...a legally owned 10-22, or mini 14 would get you $150-$200 back.An illegally owned SLR L1-A1 many thousands, as they tried to flush the big hitters out of the black market.Statistics have shown a reduction in firearm homicide (admittedly starting at a massacre will help that trending), but if you look really closely, it's mostly suicides that are trending away from unavailable guns...they are still suiciding, just with ropes, ledges, cars etc.(*) other strange co-incidences on the issue.- Tasmania purchased a morgue bus at one stage capable of holding over 20 bodies. It got used but once.- Local Police were called away to investigate a white powder, ensuring they couldn't get there.- ASIO/ASIS personnel happened to be holidaying in the area en masse, and were recalled from their holidays to assist the investigation.- (alleged) Perps mug shot was on television that night, even though he was under arrest and charged...no contempt of court.- Witnesses stated that the bloke with the long blonde hair was not the one in the cafe.- A royal commission (our highest review) was rejected as putting victim's families through too much- The case, and everything pertaining to it is under "D notice", unavailable for national security reasons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pablo Posted February 26, 2011 Report Share Posted February 26, 2011 I still don't get why they round up and take guns in Aus, is this simply because of not paying the license fees, or because too many? (Is there a quantity limit?)Who knows - I wonder if some of the shootings here are staged. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shannow Posted February 26, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 26, 2011 he round up was a voluntary amnesty, where compensation was made for semi long arms, and pump shotguns at "market" prices.Much compensation was paid for stuff that was already illegal to try to flush them out of the black market.Bloke in that video I posted was silly enough to have an illegal arsenal, then belt up his wife. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shannow Posted February 27, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 27, 2011 Who knows - I wonder if some of the shootings here are staged. I'm not sure of the various origins of events, but they get played for maximum effectiveness.Two shooters, 1 killed, 1 captured, turns into lone gunman (not Port Arthur, a more recent one), and then an official story that resembles nothing possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shannow Posted March 9, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 9, 2011 State election coming up, and there's the Greens calling for tightening handgun restrictions...[censored] for and why ?You can't own the for self defence/offence (unless in the League of Distinguished Gentlemen who can have them legally in your top desk drawer).You can't hunt with them anywhere in the country.They can exist in your safe, in your remote alarmed house, or at the range...period.So what on Earth does it have to do with the Greens ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pablo Posted March 9, 2011 Report Share Posted March 9, 2011 You merely need to look at the root of the green party to know the answer to that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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