"Joe" wrote in message
ups.com...
Subject: Australian Guns Law Update! Date: Sat, 31 Mar 2007 06:37:44
+0000
Here's a thought to warm some of your hearts... From: Ed Chenel, A
police officer in Australia:


Hi Yanks, I though t you all would like to see the real figures from
Down Under. It has now been 12 months since gun owners in Australia
were forced by a new law to surrender 640,381 personal firearms to be
destroyed by our own government, a program costing Australia taxpayers
more than $500 million dollars.

The first year results are now in:

Australia-wide, homicides are up 6.2 percent

Australia-wide, assaults are up 9.6 percent

Australia-wide, armed robberies are up 44 percent
(yes, 44 percent)!

In the state of Victoria alone, homicides with firearms are now up 300
percent .

(Note that while the law-abiding citizens turned them in, the
criminals did not and criminals still possess their guns!)

While figures over the previous 25 years showed a steady decrease in
armed robbery with firearms, this has changed drastically upward in
the past 12 months, since the criminals now are guaranteed that their
prey is unarmed. There has also been a dramatic increase in break-ins
and assaults of the elderly, while the resident is at home.

Australian politicians are at a loss to explain how public safety has
decreased, after such monumental effort and expense was expended in
"successfully ridding Australian society of guns."

You won't see this on the American evening news or hear your governor
or members of the State Assembly disseminating this information

The Australian experience speaks for itself. Guns in the hands of
honest citizens save lives and property and, yes, gun-control laws
affect only the law-abiding citizens.

Take note Americans, before it's too late!

Joe

Australian Bureau of Statistics
45100 2005 Recorded Crime - Victims, Australia
VICTIMS, Use of weapon in commission of offence by offence
category-2005
Murder Attempted Murder Kidnapping/ Abduction Robbery
NUMBER
Weapon used
Firearm 26 48 9 758
Knife 80 80 66 3182
Syringe 0 3 0 278
Other weapon 40 50 25 1193
Total weapon used 159 197 114 6222
No weapon used 111 76 617 10565
Total 270 273 731 16787
PROPORTION (%)
Weapon used
Firearm 9.6 17.6 1.2 4.5
Knife 29.6 29.3 9.0 19.0
Syringe 0 1.1 0 1.7
Other weapon 14.8 18.3 3.4 7.1
Total weapon used 58.9 72.2 15.6 37.1
No weapon used 41.1 27.8 84.4 62.9
Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
© Commonwealth of Australia, 2006