Ahh, here we go, the ever so fun topic of gun control laws.
There are always people quick to point out that if there were no guns in the hands of civilians then there would be less crimes committed. Less crimes involving assault and homicide in any case. This is coming out even more everytime some low life decides to take weapons onto campus or to a place of work. Fortunantly for the gene pool these people usually either die by their own hands or by law enforment officers.
Austalians were forced to give up 640,381 personal firearms. These included .22 rimfires that were semi-automatics. One year later here are some results on how their excellent system has worked so far:
Australia-wide, homicides are up 3.2%
Australia-wide, assaults are up 8.6%
Australia-wide, armed-robberies are up 44% (yes, FORTY-FOUR PERCENT)
In the state of Victoria, homicides-with-firearms are up 300%
Figures over the previous 25 years show a steady decrease in homicides-with-firearms (changed dramatically in the past 12 months)
Figures over the previous 25 years show a steady decrease in armed-robbery-with-firearms (changed dramatically in the past 12 months)
There has been a dramatic increase in breakins-and-assaults-of- the-elderly
At the time of the ban, the Prime Minister said "self-defense is not a reason for owning a firearm"
From 1910 to present, homicides in Australia had averaged about 1.8-per-100,000 or lower, a safe society by any standard.
I would have to say that it looks as though this program is working, right? I mean anytime murders go up 300% you really cant complain. And this is just firearms related murders, not those involving knives, fists or other means. Its kinda ironic how the prime minister stated that "self defense is not a reason for owning a firearm". Apparently commiting crime is. All that Australia has done was to take the peoples means of protecting themselves away. If a criminal wants to get a firearm he will be able to find a way. There is no way around that, there never will. Why then are people so fast to take away your right to defend yourself against this? That would be like saying that the police have no right having carbines or shotguns, even though that thought was quashed after the North Hollywood bank robbery.
You know this little experiment that Australia is coducting has cost the taxpayers over 500 million dollars. Yeah, lets invest 500 million dollars into seeing how high we really can get our crime rate, good idea guys. Still even after a year the politicians are saying "give it more time". Murders, assaults, robberies, all on the rise while politicians sit back and want to "give it more time". Yup, sounds like politics.
Listen, the real truth of the matter is that there are bad people, and yes, this world really is hostile. I can see why some people dont want guns. There are people that are scared of them, and those that just dont want them in their house. This is all fine by me, I would never say "Firearms for all". I do however believe in a persons right to defend themselves, their property, and their family. Researchers have found no instance in history where banning handguns leads to less crimes committed by handguns. In fact evidence points in the other direction. This was demonstrated at the mall shooting in Salt Lake City where an off duty police officer, who was carrying a handgun, was able to stop the shooter. An action that undoubtably saved lives. These actions take place all the time with either off duty police officers or citizens who are carrying at the time.
Lets face it, passing laws against law abiding citizens gets you nowhere. I know people are tired of hearing this but most people who carry firearms do so in full obedience to the laws. Hell, most go outta there way to obey the laws in order to have that right.
