Australia gun control is going ‘backward’

Although from my viewpoint I don’t see a lot of progress being made in Australia the gun control people are screaming bloody murder:

David Shoebridge says NSW has gone backwards on gun control.

As near as I can tell the problem for these people is that people are following the law and buying guns:

Figures obtained by The Sunday Telegraph show there are 188,885 people on the NSW Police Firearms Register, just short of the estimated 200,000 licence holders pre- the Port Arthur massacre, which triggered changes to gun laws.

NSW Greens described the increase as “alarming” and gun control groups warned that more and more firearms would end up on the black market.

“The trend is all one-way in NSW; that is, more guns and more gun owners and that is a dangerous trend,” NSW Greens MP David Shoebridge said.

“There’s a real concern where we are developing a gun culture here in NSW. A good part of the problem comes from the influence of the Shooters Party and the Gun Council here in NSW. We need this government to stand up to the gun lobby to restrict access, particularly to handguns, and ensure the current restrictions remain in place.”

It’s interesting and revealing that this politician wants to reduce the number of gun owners rather than just restrict the type of guns and that owners be licensed and their guns registered. It was the hope that the restrictions would decrease the number of gun owners. The ultimate goal of the anti-gun people must be, always has been, and always will be a complete ban.

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9 thoughts on “Australia gun control is going ‘backward’

  1. “Our position has always been the more firearms in the community, the more likely they’ll be stolen and end up on the black market,” Ms Lee said.

    Sounds somewhat logical. Still, let me rephrase –

    “Our position has always been the more cash in the community, the more likely it’ll be stolen and end up on the black market,” Ms Lee said.

    Ban Money! And jewelry, including watches. And [fancy] footwear. TVs. Computers.

    Ms Lee, when my apartment was broken into some years back, the thief actually stole the sheets ftom my bed! Should I not haxe sheets? Are sheets too big a temptation?

  2. It’s kinda cute he’s all worried about the developing “Gun Culture”, almost like he read Unintended Consequences.

  3. I almost think gun controllers should just give it up and go the other way: insist everyone carry a gun.

    I think the only way the gun culture will change in the USA is if it becomes “uncool” to own guns. Like smoking, cocaine, tattoos, drinking and driving — everything gets it’s day in the sun. Once people get tired of it, then you can pass meaningful regulation.

    So, I’d like to see some lawsuits for the folks under 18. They should be allowed to carry guns for self defense too. As soon as a child can hold a gun, they should be allowed to have one. Look at all the sexual predators. Why should kids be defenseless? Little kids are simply small GFKZ (gun free kid zones). No need for that. Owning a gun is a natural right. Joe says so. 🙂

    I believe, if everyone had guns, current gun owners would be screaming for restrictions. Seriously. 🙂

  4. @ubu52, I agree the gun controllers should just give it up.

    I’ve heard it claimed there were natural cycles of enthusiasm for the shooting sports. The period was I heard was seven years. But that was mentioned in the late nineties when this guy claimed gun interest was at a peak. I’m pretty sure the data since has proven him wrong.

    I suspect interest in gun ownership will be more like interest in cars rather than “smoking, cocaine, tattoos, drinking and driving”. The cycles, if any, will be the number of people participating in gun sports and collecting them. But there will be a solid base that regard them as everyday objects that they use on a regular basis.

    Read the U.S. Supreme Court decision D.C. v. Heller. “Natural right” is mentioned seven times. It’s very clear they regard the right to keep and bear arms as a natural right.

    If you want to claim what I say is more important than what the Supreme Court says you are welcome to do so but in most circles you will get more traction if you tone down your adoration of me just a bit. 😉

  5. @ubu52:

    Why don’t we just let toddlers drive cars, operate heavy machinery, drink heavily, prostitute themselves (if in Nevada), vote and get married? Oh yeah, they are not adults yet and so lack the necessary maturity. If you think any sane person would recommend these, or your silly suggestion, you are delusional. As usual, I fail to find merit in your arguments.

  6. Ubu52, L. Neil Smith already beat you to that idea; see “http://www.lneilsmith.org/schools.html”. And he makes a compelling case. In particular, El Neil is certainly right about one thing: the problems we have with kids and guns isn’t that kids have access to guns, it’s that *only* the bad kids have guns.

    Once upon a time, it wasn’t all that unusual for kids to carry guns to school. Schools had rifle events, after all, and there was hunting after school too. Indeed, there is a picture of a cute little boy, age 6 or so, somewhere on “The Cornered Cat”, holding a rifle and evidence that he knew how to use it (a squirrel, if I remember correctly–I’m not going to look it up right now to find out for sure). That little boy is now 80 years old or so, so it was a while ago that the picture was taken…but I see no reason why children at the age of six can’t, at a bare minimum, be taught how to use a rifle and a pistol!

    I think children are more sensible than we often give them credit for, although I would grant that our public schools have driven out a lot of that sensibility. But that’s an argument for getting rid of public schools, which I am not going to argue for at this moment.

  7. The NSW Greens (small left wing conservation party) were taken over by the communists after the money stopped flowing from the USSR in 1989 and the communists needed a new front organisation.

    Their only federal Senator is the former convenor for the coalition for gun control and comes from a communist family: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Rhiannon

    Because of this gun control is one of the religious dogmas of the greens.

    In reality the number of licensed shooters in 1996 was roughly 248000 IIRC. After the 1996 gun laws numbers dropped to around 186,000. As the populaton of the state has increased by 5.5% since then the number of gun owners has not kept up. Which is a pity.

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