How Melbourne became a gun city (The Age)

[juststarting]

Ooooo something brewing there...
http://www.theage.com.au/interactive/20 ... /day1.html

[on_one_wheel]

Iv'e banned myself from reading agenda pushing, one eyed, forked tongue dribble from The Age.

EDIT ;
Dammit. ... I couldn't help myself.

Some good facts in there with a sprinkling of rubbish like the estimated number of legally owned firearms stolen WTF ? I'm pretty sure that 99% of gun thefts are reported. Surely no guess work is required for that ?
No reference to the Senate Enquiry into the Ability of Australian law enforcement authorities to eliminate gun-related violence in the community

Here's what the real problem is ...it's ICE
People aren't getting and using guns because of guns, they are getting guns because of ICE.

I think that the next massive ICE bust should be re-released into the market laced with cyanide.
That should chill the demand out for ICE a little.

[Mr.Seacucumber]

And who is going to pay the price for this s**t? Law abiding gun owners.

[Gwion]

I thought the article was quite unbiased until the last couple of paragraphs, where it went completely stupid!

QUOTE:
"Stolen, smuggled & sold
In 2014, Australia reached a disturbing milestone - the moment when there were more legally-owned firearms in the country than before the 1996 Port Arthur Massacre.

The national gun buyback scheme launched by then Prime Minister John Howard led to the voluntary surrender of more than 700,000 firearms, but more than a million new weapons have been legally imported since.

How many of the weapons in the hands of legal owners end up on the black market is a contentious subject, although criminologists have estimated at least 1500 are stolen each year."



FFS! There is nothing disturbing about lawful firearms kept by lawful people committing NO crimes with them!

To top it off, there is no need for "criminologists to estimate" the number of guns stolen. They are all registered and reported when stolen or the legal owner risk prison themselves!!! The statistics are concrete and on hand..... anyone "estimating" is "plucking a number out of their arse".

Then the best bit:
"But the “diversion” of newly imported weapons - either through theft or illegal sale - is one of the biggest sources of black-market firearms, a senior law enforcement source says."

A senior law enforcement source....
OK, if they were sprouting official information, they would be happy to be named. My feeling is this was a misquote and so the 'journalist' (or possibly the editorial staff) removed the name of the source to avoid backlash from the 'source'. Law enforcement agencies from around Australia were pretty clear during the Senate Enquiry that it is ILLICIT IMPORTS and unpoliceable borders that are the problem, not "diverted" legal imports. All you need to do is access the Senate Enquirie's public submissions to get the FACTS.

Other than that section, which seemed to appear out of nowhere from the tone of the article, i thought the piece was well put together and seemed to be painting the picture the firearms violence was, by and large, a result of underworld drug trade.

[pete1]

Well if they want to stop it, when they attack the law abiding gun owner, and put restrictions on us, it's not gunna help case. If it's easier to get a illegal gun then why do it the proper way by get a licence and comply to the laws.
We all know there's alot of people calling for further restrictions on firearms and if they punish the ones smuggling guns and criminals hurting people with firearms well that's all good, but when they put further restrictions on the people using firearms legally then it will not help. Criminals don't do things legally, that's why they're criminals.

[happyhunter]

It is just a re hash of past news stories. Nothing new. Must be a slow day at the news office.

[juststarting]

I am just saying there's something brewing, media kicks into gear on a topic out of the blue, something is happening...

[<<Genesis93>>]

Just spouting the same line... blurring the lines between licit and illicit firearms...same same same..

Theyve even mapped the shootings across Victoria for us.... no injuries/injuries and deaths... all crime/drug/bikie related deaths except one murder suicide of an older couple..

What I find concerning is [again] the reporting of firearm offences - these include everything firearm related from storage compliance check offences, a loose 22 round in the glove box or next to the safe... right up to homicides. Does it reflect MORE crime or MORE compliance checking or MORE charges from MORE laws...?? I suspect its at least partly a result of the police writing up a laundry list of charges for each 'bust'...

How about this crap about the night club where they do the deals, drugs guns outlaws.... maybe send a memo to the police if you have new info..

And the police?? - "Victoria Police Assistant Commissioner Stephen Fontana says law enforcement authorities are deeply concerned by the availability of weapons and the thriving gun culture among some young men, who appear willing to use firearms to settle the most trivial of disputes."
There he goes again... Steve 'Hanna' Fontana, mister 'some kind of automatic' bolt action savage, doesnt discriminate between law abiding or otherwise... make no mistake, 'gun culture' is a guy owning a firearm...you and I, and there job, as they said it, is to stamp it out, at least do their bit.

These machine guns and AK47s? If Fontana is involved theyre probably air rifles or 22s

[on_one_wheel]

I am just saying there's something brewing, media kicks into gear on a topic out of the blue, something is happening...

Have we seen the NFA review yet ?

That's the first thing that comes to mind.

[YoungBuck]

I love this bit:

...Howard led to the voluntary surrender of more than 700,000 firearms...

Yep - hand in your semi-autos or go to prison... can hardly call that voluntary surrender...

[lole]

Assault rifles and machine guns are being seized at an alarming rate.

What?! lol

[happyhunter]

I am just saying there's something brewing, media kicks into gear on a topic out of the blue, something is happening...

This is what's brewing.

It is high time there was another buyback. For the past two years, there have been more legally owned guns in Australia than there were before the Port Arthur massacre.

http://www.theage.com.au/comment/the-ag ... reg1j.html

They are going try and justify another buyback. The "three day investigative" reports is a collaboration between the usual suspect reporters and VicPol.

[tom604]

some of those machine guns were home made if i remember correctly , all those pistols that they found at the post office,:" just diverted "

[happyhunter]

some of those machine guns were home made if i remember correctly , all those pistols that they found at the post office,:" just diverted "

yeah, the home made gun thing is really taking off. There was another bust the other week, outlaw bikers group and 'gun making' tools were seized during the raid.

[tom604]

some of those machine guns were home made if i remember correctly , all those pistols that they found at the post office,:" just diverted "

yeah, the home made gun thing is really taking off. There was another bust the other week, outlaw bikers group and 'gun making' tools were seized during the raid.

why import when you can make your own should be a law against it

[wanneroo]

All of this shows the stupidity of "gun control". By eliminating or strangling the legal market for semi auto firearms 20 years ago, the government ended up creating a lucrative market for the illicit firearms trade and created a mostly defenseless population. IMO from what I have seen, the Australian Police are poorly prepared to deal with these gangs or terror groups and the violence is going to get worse.

Also it's not like you are sending a man to the moon or building a nuclear submarine here, firearms technology is readily understood and the knowledge to build or assemble firearms is readily found. We've already seen criminal gangs put together home made full auto submachine guns in Australia. If you have all the parts and barrel, an AR-15 can be assembled with simple tools in an hour. An AK is harder to build but if you have a basic parts kit and barrel, using a hydraulic press and drill press, it can be done.

[juststarting]

This is what's brewing.

It is high time there was another buyback. For the past two years, there have been more legally owned guns in Australia than there were before the Port Arthur massacre.

http://www.theage.com.au/comment/the-ag ... reg1j.html
They are going try and justify another buyback. The "three day investigative" reports is a collaboration between the usual suspect reporters and VicPol.

Just sitting here, jaw dropped, thinking what in the world of f*** are they smoking, if this is indeed the case. Buy what back? From who? This is crazy. But going down the path of 'we are not asking - buyback' - what's left, I mean slingshots, airsoft and some nerf guns are illegal!? What's there to buy!?

I am thinking centrefire lever actions and I am scared!

[happyhunter]

A couple of reports since my last post and it seems they are planning an amnesty. In real terms there has always been an amnesty because there was nothing to stop a person walking into a gun dealer and dropping off a firearm anonymously.

Possibly advertising a national amnesty might inspire a number of otherwise law abiding people to hand in the odd unregistered keeper and police are hoping it will reduce the number of unregistered guns out there because it is about all they can do to reduce the number of guns in the community, albeit barely. In real terms the amnesty wont make a difference to the illegal gun market.