Australia announces national gun amnesty

[redred]

https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/660/cpsprodpb/9BFB/production/_96513993_9dbe4cba-f53e-4826-8649-95d93d785e4b.jpg

Australia is bringing in its first national gun amnesty since 1996 because of the growing terrorism threat and an influx of illegal arms in the country.
During the three-month amnesty running from 1 July, people can hand in unregistered weapons without the fear of prosecution, the government says.
Those caught outside that period face fines of up to A$280,000 ($212,730; £166,480) or up to 14 years in prison.
It is estimated that there are as many as 260,000 illicit guns in Australia.
Justice Minister Michael Keenan said illegal guns were used in recent terror attacks in Australia as well as for organised crime.
"This is an opportunity for people to present the guns to authorities, no questions asked and with no penalty," he said.
"If people don't take that opportunity, the penalties for owning an unregistered or illegal gun in Australia are very severe."
Australia brought in a similar amnesty deal after the 1996 shootings in Port Arthur.
Attacker Martin Bryant killed 35 people in the historic tourist town in Tasmania - the worst mass shooting in Australia's history.
In recent years the authorities have been expressing growing concern over the threat of possible terrorist attacks in the country.
Last month, they said they were treating as a "terrorist incident" a siege in Melbourne in which a gunman was killed.
In 2014, a 16-hour hostage situation in a Sydney cafe ended with three people dead, including the armed hostage-taker.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-40298148

[Griffin]

That's the spirit.
Just leave the terrorists and criminals with guns. :thumbsup:

[Godfather]

That's the spirit.
Just leave the terrorists and criminals with guns. :thumbsup:

These are guns already illegal though, aren't those the highest risk at getting into the hands of criminals from B&E's and such? This is just a drive to have people turn the illegal ones in, it doesn't sound like they're making the laws any tougher.

As an anecdote, I know two people with 'prohibited' listed guns that they shouldn't own due to regulations here, and they're the only two people I know who don't keep them in safes as required by law :lol:

[The Monk]

Some other parts of the world (no names) could do well to take note....

The last "amnesty" after the Port Arthur massacre collected a massive amount of illegal firearms.

[RBP]

These are guns already illegal though, aren't those the highest risk at getting into the hands of criminals from B&E's and such? This is just a drive to have people turn the illegal ones in, it doesn't sound like they're making the laws any tougher.

As an anecdote, I know two people with 'prohibited' listed guns that they shouldn't own due to regulations here, and they're the only two people I know who don't keep them in safes as required by law :lol:

I think his point was that anyone with nefarious intent will not be turning in their weapons.

[RBP]

Some other parts of the world (no names) could do well to take note....

The last "amnesty" after the Port Arthur massacre collected a massive amount of illegal firearms.

And you think you prevented shootings because those so inclined had a change of heart because of government amnesty?

[Godfather]

I think his point was that anyone with nefarious intent will not be turning in their weapons.

And my counter point was to say that even by law abiding citizens turning in prohibited weapons, you decrease the risk of those weapons finding their way into the hands of nefarious characters (via b&e's for example)

Another anecdote is that last time they did one of these drives in Canada my grandfather had recently died, so my grandmother marched his old rifle down to the RCMP and turned it in because she doesn't have a license, no questions asked. Had she kept it in the basement, there's a far higher chance it falls into the wrong hands than there is of her using it for self defence....

[RBP]

And my counter point was to say that even by law abiding citizens turning in prohibited weapons, you decrease the risk of those weapons finding their way into the hands of nefarious characters (via b&e's for example)

Another anecdote is that last time they did one of these drives in Canada my grandfather had recently died, so my grandmother marched his old rifle down to the RCMP and turned it in because she doesn't have a license, no questions asked. Had she kept it in the basement, there's a far higher chance it falls into the wrong hands than there is of her using it for self defence....

How exactly is it that a gun in your grandmother's basement "falls into the wrong hands"? I think that's disingenuous and naive. There is no systemic issue with law-abiding citizens' guns suddenly and inexplicably showing up at crime scenes. C'mon man. If you can provide me any support for that notion I am very open to reconsideration.

[RBP]

As for the b&e notion... what do you think is easier, getting a gun in the hood or breaking and entering your grandmother's basement?

[Godfather]

I thought there were some stats about stolen weapons? I just did a quick google (question the sources if you will):

- "Stolen guns account for only about 10% to 15% of guns used in crimes," (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/guns/procon/guns.html)

- "About 1.4 million firearms were stolen during household burglaries and other property crimes over the six-year period from 2005 through 2010, according to a report released today by the Justice Department’s Bureau of Justice Statistics"

As I said, it's anecdotal but that one unregistered gun in granny's basement had a 0% chance of doing anything good, and a higher than 0% chance of doing something nefarious, and it was already illegal for her to keep it.


I'm curious though... There are some weapons even in the US that are prohibited/illegal. What would you have against a drive by police to allow people to turn them in with amnesty? Because that all I'm really arguing for, that it's not a big deal...

[RBP]

I thought there were some stats about stolen weapons? I just did a quick google (question the sources if you will):

- "Stolen guns account for only about 10% to 15% of guns used in crimes," (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/guns/procon/guns.html)

- "About 1.4 million firearms were stolen during household burglaries and other property crimes over the six-year period from 2005 through 2010, according to a report released today by the Justice Department’s Bureau of Justice Statistics"

As I said, it's anecdotal but that one unregistered gun in granny's basement had a 0% chance of doing anything good, and a higher than 0% chance of doing something nefarious, and it was already illegal for her to keep it.


I'm curious though... There are some weapons even in the US that are prohibited/illegal. What would you have against a drive by police to allow people to turn them in with amnesty? Because that all I'm really arguing for, that it's not a big deal...

We're back to the ideology versus substance. It sounds nice to do voluntary surrender, but why would someone that intended to do harm voluntarily surrender? That's fine, do your drives, feel good. I am just not sure it has an impact.

And your stolen category is likely legal arms. Not illegal which was the point of the OP drive.

[RBP]

Maybe it's different in AU where we are talking about criminal penalties. :dunno:

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/01/12/gun-buybacks-popular-but-ineffective/1829165/

Excerpt:


Researchers who have evaluated gun control strategies say buybacks – despite their popularity – are among the least effective ways to reduce gun violence. They say targeted police patrols, intervention efforts with known criminals and, to a lesser extent, tougher gun laws all work better than buybacks.

The biggest weakness of buybacks, which offer cash or gift cards for guns, is that the firearms they usually collect are insignificant when measured against the arsenal now in the hands of American citizens.

The government estimates there are more than 310 million guns in America today, nearly enough to arm every man, woman and child in the country.

"They make for good photo images," said Michael Scott, director of the Center for Problem Oriented Policing, based at the University of Wisconsin's law school. "But gun buyback programs recover such a small percentage of guns that it's not likely to make much impact."

The relatively small number of guns recovered isn't the only problem, Scott said. Buyback programs tend to attract people who are least likely to commit crimes and to retrieve guns that are least likely to be used in crimes.

[PorkChopSandwiches]

:lol: