by Akis » 19 Mar 2016, 8:47 pm
Hi <<Genesis93>>,
Firstly thank you for the welcome.
Indeed I am beginning to understand the relationship between diameter (calibre), projectile length, weight and twist. Quite complex and no doubt in time I will get my head around it. Predominantly due to the help I receive on this and one other forums. I am touched by the generosity that many have shown me.
I appreciate your angst, albeit somewhat misdirected in my opinion. Firstly let me reassure you I am nobody’s fool, of course there are disingenuous individuals the trawl forums like these looking for opportunities to profit their agendas, be it for votes, news sales or to pressure legislators to legislate firearms out of existence… simply, they are here because we are here.
I am not new to the sport (my father taught me to hunt), I am returning after quite a long absence, and what I found on my return is illogical legislation with built-in stumbling blocks that are obviously designed to discourage and dismay. I applied for a licence application form (what???) in December, I received it in late Jan and immediately returned it in early Feb, they acknowledged receiving it this month (March) and informed me that it will take a further 6 – 8 weeks for background checks, which by the way in this oh so digital age would take fractions of a second. Then to purchase a firearm I need another form, including a 28 day cooling off period I assume. I do support ensuring the registration and security of firearms, I feel it is one component of protecting society, but this is beyond logical explanation.
In the meantime, I am unable to touch a firearm in a gunshop, even with the bolt removed (beyond stupid me thinks). This happened in two gunshops. As you know a rifle has to feel like it fits, so waiting for a licence, from my experience so far, probably late April and beyond!
As for my comment, considering what I’d been exposed to already, I was pleasantly surprised that our legislators had not totally lost the plot. I muse at the thought of them banning copper and lead!! Ridiculous but given the state of affairs I have been confronted with so far, amusingly not beyond the realm of possibility.
So to the core of all this, the safety and protection of society. I ask, how will persecuting firearm enthusiasts by enacting draconian laws, stop the drive by shootings and other repugnant antisocial behaviour. The only way to do this is to target the people perpetrating these acts, but this takes money and effort, so rather than bolstering the police force, giving them the man power and resources to hunt these people down, to make these low lifes feel that if they stick their head above the radar they will be caught. The way to stop criminals is to focus on criminals and make their lifestyle under constant threat, not us.
Sadly the simpler and cheaper option is to make extinct the ownership of firearms… then my friend only the crims will have them!! All the laws imaginable will never affect this fact. Lawbreakers do not care about the law they look for opportunity to circumvent it, they do however consider the consequences of capture.
What we, as law abiding citizens should be doing is using our democratic rights and forcing our legislators and police to keep their eye on the ball. Which is catching criminals and having strong enough legislation to make them think twice before they consider any wrong doing. We should never be afraid to vocalise our thinking, we should appreciate that the “anti-gun lobby” too have a right to their beliefs. So no problem, they’ll never own a rifle, suits me. A friend of mine is a strict vegan, terrific, so long as I am not forced to comply with her beliefs, happy days. That is what the anti-gun lobbyists are trying to do to us and they use unreasonable examples to justify their actions. What I fear is inaction by us that will be our downfall. I worked in a heavily legislated industry for 26 years and that was its downfall. Allowing the ridiculous to be accepted as truth.
As for not quoting your quote, I have no idea what that means. If it meant that I have no right of reply…wrong.
Apologies for the sooo long winded reply, I felt it imperative that we all stop being afraid of those that oppose us and begin insisting on verifiable, justifiable and valid proof for their arguments.
These are my beliefs and are not in any way intended to denigrate of offend. They are the opinions of an Australian that has been bewildered at the degree that honest people have been unjustly treated.
Cheers
Akis