May 20, 2000


Dear Building Community Family,

With fair regularity, Stan and I receive questions about the September '96 gun buy back program in Australia. This program set aside $500 million paid for by the citizens and residents, and financed through a Medicare levy. The effort recalled more than 650,000 weapons at a cost of $315 million spent so far. This next is definitely a SWAG figure, but the money spent against the number of weapons turned in would indicate very roughly $485 per weapon. From that, we can extrapolate there might be approximately 381,443 weapons still floating around Australia. Granted the buy back payouts depend on the type of weapon turned in, but this gives a general idea of the campaign's success or lack thereof. Conversely we might argue that the government collected too much money from its taxpayers, but whoever heard of such a thing!

The gun recall legislation was never brought before the public for a vote; only Parliament voted. It was purported to have public support since the legislation was timed smartly on the heels of The Port Arthur Massacre. Port Arthur is located on the Tasman Peninsula on the very southern portion of this island-state. It is nearly the last stopping point before the Antarctic.

On April 28, 1996, Martin Bryant opened fire in the street and restaurants killing 35 people and wounding 20 others using two semi-automatic rifles. What brilliant timing for the legislation. Only 12 days passed before on May 10, 1996, the Australasian Police Mnisters' Council (APMC) approved comprehensive national uniform gun controls. A mere five months later, September 1996, saw the implementation of the gun buy back.

As an addendum to the Martin Bryant story, after his horrific killing and wounding spree and committing 37 other violent crimes, he was sentenced to life imprisonment as "a social misfit". No reason was given by Bryant at the trial, nor to this day has the public heard the explanation for his actions.

Australia likes to think removal of guns has brought down crime. This has not been the case.

The thing that the OZ government is conveniently not considering is that you can wind up just as dead via a knife or some other means. Removing guns was not the solution. It takes an entire reconditioning of people globally to value human life. As a substitute, many criminals are using "tainted" needles as their choice of weapon, or knives. If criminals aren't using guns, they'll use whatever is handy to accomplish their goal. Removing guns was an act of total stupidity on the part of the Australian government, nothing more.

Excerpted from page 10 of the April 29, 1999 edition of the Herald Sun. It states:

Needle Threats Soar By 1000%

"Syringe attacks are soaring in Victoria, with more than one a day now being reported to police.

"Needle-point robberies and assaults in the first six months of this financial year (July 1 - December 31) easily outstripped the total for 1997-98, according to police figures obtained by the Herald Sun."


Crimes involving knives are also on the rise. Excerpted from Friday March 12th's article in the Sydney Morning Herald:

Knives on Increase as Murderers' Choice


"The Federal Government will crack down on the availability of illegal knives after figures released yesterday showed they were the most common weapon used in homicides.

"The Australian Institute of Criminology said 36 per cent of all murders in 1997-98 involved knives or other sharp objects, up from 32.5 per cent in 1994-95.

"Homicides with other weapons, such as firearms and blunt instruments, had been (italiics ours) falling along with the overall murder rate.


SCREWY STATS?

The statistics the NRA used in an awareness campaign which caused such furor in Australia came from Australia in the first place! Recently there has been a lot of controversy here over the NRA citing crime stats in Australia as reason for no gun control. One well-known Australian national news reader (her name withheld) became very indignant over the issue saying they wondered where in the world the NRA got their Ozzie statistics. Her comments after this news bite blatantly inferred the NRA had pulled the stats out of their hip pocket to further their agenda. The egg was on her face. The stats came right from one of Melbourne, Victoria's own newspapers, The Herald Sun!

I searched the Net and found the Herald Sun article quite easily. Stan wrote this intellectually-challenged woman (she's made terrible faux pas on TV before like asking a rabbi how he was going to spend Christmas) showing where the stats came from. Needless to say, we received NO response from Channel 9.

Sporting Shooters Association of Australia carries this article which is Australia's counterpart to the NRA (National Rifle Association) and GOA (Gun Owners of America). Here's the article:


CRIME SOARS NATIONWIDE
http://www.ssaa.org.au/ozcrime2.html


HERALD SUN (MELB) IST Edition
Thursday 25 November, 1999 Page 12

Armed robbery across Australia has rocketed by 69 per cent in just three years as the nation becomes a "desperate and divided society".

The latest nationwide crime statistics reveal a sense of national desperation, the Federal Opposition said.

Between 1995 and 1998 assaults increased 27 per cent, robbery jumped by 57 per cent while imprisonment rates also climbed.

The most commonly mentioned crime in Australia is now assault, with 4.3 per cent of the population being hit, attacked with a weapon or threatened with violence.

While sexual assault increased only slightly between 1995 and 1998 there are 1.7 sexual assaults each hour in Australia.

The statistics, collected by the Australian Institute of Criminology, are the most up-to-date picture of Australian crime.

They do not rely on police and court reports but include information from 42,200 people and about 20,900 households.

Opposition justice spokesman Duncan Kerr said the statistics were a dangerous sign of a growing economic and social divide.

"The glue that holds Australia together may be starting to dissolve", he said.

"The robbery rate can be broken down to show that the number of armed robberies has increased by 69 per cent since 1995, while the number of unarmed robberies has increased by 33 per cent."

He said more people were being drawn into the criminal cycle.

"But the only plausible explanation appears to be that there is a growing anti-social response by people who feel that they have been left out, left behind and are not part of Australia's economic success."

The murder rate has remained fairly constant with 333 homicides reported last year.

Institute director Adam Graycar said the report would not necessarily reflect police statistics.

"It must be noted that crimes recorded by the police do not reflect the true level of crime in Australia," he said.

"Crime and safety surveys in Australia and crime victims surveys from overseas clearly show that only about 40 percent of crimes are reported to police by victims.:"



This coming presidential election, with the Columbine school massacre in Colorado and other shootings that followed, has laid the groundwork for such action to be taken in America. Or has it? Last Sunday there was the Million Mom March http://www.millionmommarch.com where mothers and "honorary moms" from across the U.S. marched in Washington, DC and in their own communities to encourage Congress to pass new gun legislation. Did this march deter the NRA? Here is the other side of the coin.

Why The NRA Welcomes Gun Control Fervor

May 19, 2000
Web posted at: 12:26 PM EDT (1626 GMT)

By Jessica Reaves

(TIME.com) -- While this development may not represent the worst possible scenario for organizers of the recent Million Mom March, it probably comes pretty close: The National Rifle Association, reveling in the recent heated exchange over national gun legislation, has enjoyed an extraordinary surge in membership over the past six months, signing up more than 200,000 new faithful since last fall, according to organization spokespeople.

At this rate, analysts predict, Charlton Heston's flock could charge into the November elections 4 million strong -- a bloc made considerably more intimidating to Democrats (and Al Gore) by its fierce and single-minded dedication to one mission: Defeating the gun control lobby and ensuring victory for George W. Bush. Full article here: http://www.cnn.com/2000/US/05/19/nra5_19.a.tm/index.html


PARTING THOUGHTS

On an unrelated matter, I was corresponding with Al Durtschi in Canada this last week. He mentioned he had an email addressing the exterminations of people in countries where gun control laws had been implemented. He was kind enough to forward the information. In favor of brevity, we have omitted the Election 2000 commentary at the end. When you vote this November, you might want to remember the following: (Thank you Al!)

In 1929, the Soviet Union established gun control. From 1929 to 1953, about 20 million dissidents, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.

In 1911, Turkey established gun control. From 1915 to 1917, 1.5 million Armenians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.

Germany established gun control in 1938 and from 1939 to 1945, 13 million Jews, Gypsies, the mentally infirm, and political dissidents, who were unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.

China established gun control in 1935. From 1948 to 1952, 20 million political dissidents, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.

Guatemala established gun control in 1964. From 1964 to 1981, 100,000 Mayan Indians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.

Uganda established gun control in 1970. From 1971 to 1979, 300,000 Christians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.

Cambodia established gun control in 1956. From 1975 to 1977, one million educated people, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated. [Many were killed simply because they wore eyeglasses, which in the feeble mind of their persecutors, meant they could read, ergo they were "educated" and an enemy of the Pol Pot regime.]

Known defenseless people rounded up and exterminated in the 20th Century because of gun control: 56 million... equal to one fifth of the population of the United States of America.

The next time someone talks in favor of gun control, ask him or her:

"Whom do YOU want to round up and exterminate?"



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With affection,
Holly and Stan,