“[Queensland’s] Newman government has set up a pro-gun advisory panel that will advise on how to cut the ‘red tape, delays and bureaucracy’ gun owners face when applying for a licence or a new weapon,” theaustralian.com.au reports. That can’t be right, can it? “All six members have links to the gun lobby, and include firearms dealers and shooting association representatives.” That can’t be right, can it? Queensland Police Union president Ian Leavers [above] doesn’t think so . . .
“Red tape in this instance means risk-mitigation and having appropriate safeguards, which we want to keep in place. A reduction in red tape around gun ownership will simply mean more people will die. It’s as simple as that.”
In fact . . .
“Since 2000, half the police gunned down in the line of duty were killed by licensed firearms owners.”
Wow. Really?
As it’s past midnight in Queensland; I can’t find the Union statement (thanks for the link guys). Nor can I call the Union for a citation for the cop killer stat. But here’s the same story from brisbanetimes.com:
“Statistically, since 2000, police are just as likely to be killed by licensed firearm owners,” [Leavers] said in a statement.
“If anything, we shouldn’t reduce red tape for gun owners but increase it.”
Just as likely to be killed by licensed firearm owners” is a world of meaning away from the assertion that 50 percent of shot cops were shot by legal gun owners stat. And if we’re talking stats, what’s the absolute number of legal and illegal gun owners in Queensland who’ve shot cops?
Obviously, Leavers is talking cobblers, using scare tactics and lies to make sure members have access to lethal force, rather than the people who pay their salaries. This from an organization whose website bitches and moans that they don’t have enough members to protect the public.
Anyway, could this be the start of Australians reclaiming their gun rights? If it is, it’s just baby steps. All the group wants to do: make it easier for Queenslanders to renew their license, the acquisition of which requires so much red tape Christo could use it to wrap the Shrine of Remembrance. How fitting would that be?
Well I hope the Australians get themselves out of the mess that gun control has left them in. I just wish that the UK could have a real gun rights lobby instead of the cowards in the BASC and UKNRA, all they do is stand for their own corners and not give a flying f**k about arms for self defence.
Da fuq? A limey who WANTS to be able to defend himself? Better keep your head down; the state does not take kindly to that sort, mate. Double-plus-ungood, yes indeed. 😉
Pro Gun Brit, I hope you’re familiar with the saying: “When guns are outlawed, I’ll become an outlaw.”
Screw the ivory tower politicians and their armed security. You have to take care of yourself. Do what you have to do.
You could always come to America, too.
I’ve considered going to the US, but it’s out of my range in terms of financial requirements. Besides as a British Libertarian I aim to find a way to get the truth out to the people who will listen on my home turf.
Semper Fi Pro Brit!
Try Arm Britain.com. The main site is down, but you can find them on Twitter and Facebook. I’m one of a couple hundred who make themselves known, but there is bound to be many more out there.
Good, you should educate the people in the UK about guns. That is probably the most effective and peaceful way of getting your rights back.
Pro Gun Brit, multiple high fives for continuing the cause! If for any reason you choose to leave, Arizona would be proud to have you.
I have to ask… is the main site down due to technological failures , funding etc… or is it down because your government TOOK it down?
There’s quite a few of us around you know.;-)
Good to hear Mike, are you with Arm Britain too?
Also Hal, it looks like a technical error, but there are a few of us who place the government as the prime suspect for this interruption.
the main problem with Australia is their law that makes everyone vote. that is a really bad idea. In america, at least the lazy morons just stay home. In Australia, the morons just listen to whoever rants the loudest.
When guns are licensed, only licensed gun owners will have guns
And when in reference to Australia, that includes air-soft.
“When guns are licensed, only licensed gun owners will have guns”
Sarcasm or no?
I’ll cross my fingers for our friends in the shooting community Down Under. They’ve been through a lot.
from their advert: “In many areas across Qeensland, the pressure on police numbers, is making it more and more difficult to repond to urgent calls. Our police want to live up to high expectations, but with too few numbers, and even futher job cuts, they simply won’t have the time to do the things we all look up to.”
UNPOSSIBLE! gun control was to make them safe. Why do they need more police if firearms are so heavily regulated?
Agreed. Recent advert double-plus-ungood; cites non-facts. Rewrite full-wise.
What do you want from a nation that puts beer in oil cans?
A right delayed is a right denied. Though I guess it helps to have the right in the first place.
Me for one, I am truly blessed to now live in the US and no longer in Australia (not my county of birth), Australia is lost, wasn’t always that way but alas………..
half the cops are killed with legal guns. what are we talking about, 5, 10, cops. while the death of any cop in the line of duty is terrible, let’s keep it in context. as for australia or england being lost, no they’re not. the fight begins with one and grows from there.
That’s the problem with statistics. There could be two cops killed, one by gun and one by sharpened spoon yet the magical “50% of cops were killed with a gun” is statistically true. The media would never focus on metal spoons and files even though they are statistically equivalent.
There were a couple of Aussies on the CZ Forum a while back and they regularly discussed what it was like to be a gun owner in TLDU. It did not sound very cheap and cheerful.
As with all statist contrivances, the process is the punishment. It’s about control.
Not GUN control. Just control will do, thank you very much.
Ah yes, bureaucracy — the little stings that are added to the stabbings and slashings of restrictive gun laws.
I recall a NYC cop assigned to processing pistol permits tell me what a break he got at work one day. It seems he got quite a few applications filled out in blue ballpoint ink. The regulations require applications to be either typed or printed in black ballpoint. That meant he could reject the non-conforming applications on sight, with no further concern or effort.
There have been 4 cops fatally shot in Queensland since 1990, and whilst any police fatality is a horrible thing, the police union’s comments are ridiculous and misleading. Bureaucratic inefficiency as a a risk mitigation strategy?
http://www.police.qld.gov.au/aboutUs/commemoration/
I am glad we finally have a government that is willing to look at gun issues and bring the process of renewing a license and a licensed shooter aquiring a firearm in line with the legislation.
Is that all there is to the statistic given?
Otherwise I was a bit baffled at Robert’s taking issue with the statement – both phrases (“half the police” and “just as likely to be killed by”) seem functionally identical, and both are just as potentially misleading without including the actual numbers. It’d also be helpful to get some information on what sort of circumstances surrounded these shootings – are we talking NDs at a gun range, raids, traffic stops?
http://www.police.qld.gov.au/aboutUs/commemoration/honour/roll05.htm
This link has more info on the circumstances of the shootings, no ND’s, and no details on the whether the murderers where licensed and possessed legal firearms.
2 murders of police oficers in 22 years by licensed shooters in a state with 4.5 million people is hardly an epidemic. Why didn’t the police union make their statement broader, including any murders by licensed shooters – it suggests the statistics on those are even less compelling than the ones cited for police killings by licensed shooters.
At the moment in Australia we are seeing the greatest resurgence in gun ownership since the laws were tightened in 1996, with many young shooters taking up the pastime, and the shooting lobby is becoming much stronger.
Actually, in English, just as likely does mean 50/50, and that’s 50%.
Then again, there are expressions in British English and American English that have diametrically opposed meanings: if you tell a Brit to table the issue, it will be discussed. If you tell an American to table an issue, it will be postponed.
When will all the gun happy rednecks shoot them selves so we don’t have to put up with mass shootings any more. Guns don’t kill people….. people with guns kill people.
It may have escaped your notice that the vast majority of mass shootings involve neither “rednecks” nor “gun nuts.”