Bruce in West Oz
New member
I hope some of you may be able to use this information in your fight against registration/licencing and ultimately confiscation.
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Media Release
Minister for Justice and Customs
26 July 2000
Licensed gun owners not responsible for firearm homicides
Licensed firearm owners are not responsible for the majority of firearm-related homicides according to research by the Australian Institute of Criminology released today by Senator Amanda Vanstone, Minister for Justice and Customs.
"Licensed gun owners are law-abiding citizens with legitimate reasons for owning the weapons they have.
"In over 90 per cent of firearm-related homicides the offenders are not licensed and the weapons are not registered," Senator
Vanstone said.
"In 1998/99 there were 64 firearms-related homicides in Australia, the lowest number since the National Homicide Monitoring
Program commenced a decade ago.
"The rate of firearm-related homicide in Australia is 14 times less than the rate in the US.
"However, the use of handguns in homicides in Australia has increased from 13% in 1995/96 to 42% in 1998/99. Positively though, not one handgun used in a homicide between 1997 and 1999 was used by a licensed owner. One gun was registered, but to the victim.
"The problem therefore appears to be handguns that are diverted illegally into the black market for criminal use.
"I have already raised this disturbing increase in the diversion of handguns into illegal use with the Australasian Police Ministers' Council and a working group is currently undertaking a comprehensive examination of the use of handguns in crime and relevant policing strategies. (That para doesn't sound too good for handgun owners, actually)
"Clearly this AIC paper confirms that the Federal Government was correct in introducing tougher penalties to deter people from
importing prohibited goods such as firearms.
"The licensing, registration, and storage requirements imposed by the new firearms regulations have significantly restricted the
availability and access to certain firearms.
"The recent ABS data on recorded crime, released last month, showed welcome trends in firearm-related crime. As well as showing that the use of firearms in homicides in the calendar year 1999 fell to its lowest level since 1995, the ABS report showed the use of firearms in all robberies had decreased by more than half between 1993 and 1999 and the proportion of firearms used in armed robberies had also declined from 18% in 1998 to 15% in 1999.
"While these are welcome developments, we should all remember that those at the frontline of fighting crime, who daily face the risks posed by firearms and other dangerous weapons, are sons, daughters, parents and partners. Whenever we talk about crime statistics, it is appropriate to remember the valuable contribution of our police men and women."[/quote]
And the press release from the Sporting Shooters Association of Australia:
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>SPORTING SHOOTERS ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALIA INC.
***MEDIA RELEASE***
For immediate release
Sporting Shooters vindicated
The Sporting Shooters Association of Australia Inc. has welcomed recently released Australian Institute of Criminology figures
showing that licensed firearm owners are not responsible for the majority of gun-related homicides.
The SSAA's Executive Director of Public Relations & International Affairs, Mr Keith Tidswell, said that shooters felt vindicated
by the findings. "We have argued all along that the government's buy-back scheme was aimed at the wrong group" Mr Tidswell
said. He went on to say that instead of spending $500,000,000 dollars confiscating firearms from law-abiding gun owners "the
government should have put the resources into tackling criminals."
While the AIC's research showed that licensed firearm owners were involved in less than 10% of gun related homicides, recently-released Australian Bureau of Statistics figures indicate that the rate of firearm related murder still stands at 17.8% -- about the same as it was before the 'buy-back' program. "We have almost exactly the same ratio of firearm related killings as we had when there were 640,000 additional guns in the community, clearly the buy-back was misguided" Mr Tidswell said. He went on to say that the SSAA was now engaged in the struggle against gun crime at the international level via its new position
as an official Non-Government Organisation within the United Nations. "While we regret that the AIC's findings were not available at the time of the APMC agreement in 1996, now that average shooters have been exonerated we hope the government will finally turn its attention to real criminals" Mr Tidswell said.[/quote]
Now, let's start to roll back some of the more ludicrous Australian rules and regulations and, especially, the unabashed "anti-gunowner" attitudes of the government, the police and the media.
B
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Media Release
Minister for Justice and Customs
26 July 2000
Licensed gun owners not responsible for firearm homicides
Licensed firearm owners are not responsible for the majority of firearm-related homicides according to research by the Australian Institute of Criminology released today by Senator Amanda Vanstone, Minister for Justice and Customs.
"Licensed gun owners are law-abiding citizens with legitimate reasons for owning the weapons they have.
"In over 90 per cent of firearm-related homicides the offenders are not licensed and the weapons are not registered," Senator
Vanstone said.
"In 1998/99 there were 64 firearms-related homicides in Australia, the lowest number since the National Homicide Monitoring
Program commenced a decade ago.
"The rate of firearm-related homicide in Australia is 14 times less than the rate in the US.
"However, the use of handguns in homicides in Australia has increased from 13% in 1995/96 to 42% in 1998/99. Positively though, not one handgun used in a homicide between 1997 and 1999 was used by a licensed owner. One gun was registered, but to the victim.
"The problem therefore appears to be handguns that are diverted illegally into the black market for criminal use.
"I have already raised this disturbing increase in the diversion of handguns into illegal use with the Australasian Police Ministers' Council and a working group is currently undertaking a comprehensive examination of the use of handguns in crime and relevant policing strategies. (That para doesn't sound too good for handgun owners, actually)
"Clearly this AIC paper confirms that the Federal Government was correct in introducing tougher penalties to deter people from
importing prohibited goods such as firearms.
"The licensing, registration, and storage requirements imposed by the new firearms regulations have significantly restricted the
availability and access to certain firearms.
"The recent ABS data on recorded crime, released last month, showed welcome trends in firearm-related crime. As well as showing that the use of firearms in homicides in the calendar year 1999 fell to its lowest level since 1995, the ABS report showed the use of firearms in all robberies had decreased by more than half between 1993 and 1999 and the proportion of firearms used in armed robberies had also declined from 18% in 1998 to 15% in 1999.
"While these are welcome developments, we should all remember that those at the frontline of fighting crime, who daily face the risks posed by firearms and other dangerous weapons, are sons, daughters, parents and partners. Whenever we talk about crime statistics, it is appropriate to remember the valuable contribution of our police men and women."[/quote]
And the press release from the Sporting Shooters Association of Australia:
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>SPORTING SHOOTERS ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALIA INC.
***MEDIA RELEASE***
For immediate release
Sporting Shooters vindicated
The Sporting Shooters Association of Australia Inc. has welcomed recently released Australian Institute of Criminology figures
showing that licensed firearm owners are not responsible for the majority of gun-related homicides.
The SSAA's Executive Director of Public Relations & International Affairs, Mr Keith Tidswell, said that shooters felt vindicated
by the findings. "We have argued all along that the government's buy-back scheme was aimed at the wrong group" Mr Tidswell
said. He went on to say that instead of spending $500,000,000 dollars confiscating firearms from law-abiding gun owners "the
government should have put the resources into tackling criminals."
While the AIC's research showed that licensed firearm owners were involved in less than 10% of gun related homicides, recently-released Australian Bureau of Statistics figures indicate that the rate of firearm related murder still stands at 17.8% -- about the same as it was before the 'buy-back' program. "We have almost exactly the same ratio of firearm related killings as we had when there were 640,000 additional guns in the community, clearly the buy-back was misguided" Mr Tidswell said. He went on to say that the SSAA was now engaged in the struggle against gun crime at the international level via its new position
as an official Non-Government Organisation within the United Nations. "While we regret that the AIC's findings were not available at the time of the APMC agreement in 1996, now that average shooters have been exonerated we hope the government will finally turn its attention to real criminals" Mr Tidswell said.[/quote]
Now, let's start to roll back some of the more ludicrous Australian rules and regulations and, especially, the unabashed "anti-gunowner" attitudes of the government, the police and the media.
B
Thanks.