These guns and air rifles are the take – what authorities call a massive cache of private guns – in Moonford, Australia, a tiny farming community with virtually no crime. That is, there was no crime there before the Australian government created it with its intrusive “gun control” laws, taking advantage of the act of a madman and the emotional response pushed by their national media. Now all guns must be registered. All guns must be locked up. All guns are subject to inspection at virtually any time. When I considered a trip to Australia a few years ago, I learned that even spear guns and blowguns are subject to control. It’s chilling confirmation that gun registration is gun confiscation . . .
The “crime” in this case wouldn’t be illegal at all in the vast majority of the United States. It wouldn’t have even been a crime in much of Australia before 1996. Notice that in the photo (above) the “illegal guns” include pellet guns, single shot .22 rifles, antique shotguns and numerous bolt action hunting rifles.
The three men charged for amassing the collection – a 69 year old father and two sons, aged 46 and 42 – were licensed to have 71 firearms and all those guns are included in the 328-gun seizure. Because they are licensed to have guns, it is clear that they are not career criminals. It is not as if they can shoot more than maybe two guns at once. But because the guns aren’t registered they are all subject to confiscation.
Australia has done what the American anti-freedom advocates want: to make any possession of any gun not registered to the state a crime. All the guns in the country are then subject to seizure by the state at any time the state either 1) finds them (for those not registered) or 2) desires to take them (those already registered). The seizure of the guns included 4.2 tons of ammunition. Total value is likely to be hundreds of thousands of dollars. I wonder if Australian law will include confiscating the 2,000 acre farm.
There is no credible evidence that the strict gun control laws in Australia have decreased crime or suicides. For every study that claims they have, there is at least as credible of a study to show they have not. What is clear is the Prime Minister, John Howard, hated people having access to firearms, and that he would do anything to restrict and ban them. From Wikipedia:
Until 1996, the federal government had little role in firearms law. Following the Port Arthur massacre, the Howard Government (1996–2007), with strong media and public support, introduced uniform gun laws with the cooperation of all the states, brought about through threats to Commonwealth funding arrangements (bold added). The then Prime Minister John Howard frequently referred to the USA to explain his opposition to civilian firearms ownership and use in Australia, stating that he did not want Australia to go “down the American path”.[53][54][55] In one interview on Sydney radio station 2GB he said, “We will find any means we can to further restrict them because I hate guns… ordinary citizens should not have weapons. We do not want the American disease imported into Australia.”
It is notable that the Federal Government used financial extortion to obtain the cooperation of the states. It is remarkably similar to what we have seen in the United States. Australia should serve as an object lesson to Americans. Their media and government so despised guns in private hands that they were quite willing to use “all means” to bring about the nationalization of the gun laws Australia now suffers under. The vast majority of Australians live in coastal cities and know only what they are told by the media about guns. Their ignorance has cost their country cousins much time, treasure, and police intrusion into their lives.
Fortunately, the United States can learn from Australia’s experience. We have far more activists who have developed strong networks to oppose these ill considered laws. Our urban populations are learning the truth about citizen disarmament laws. Australia’s developing network of activists was simply overwhelmed by the combined media and government forces that conspired against them.
©2013 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.
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