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Firearms fixed in Governmentâs sights
Historic firearms could be destroyed as a result of the $118 million national handgun buyback scheme, collectors warned yesterday. Under the scheme, which starts in Victoria on Friday, all pre-1900 percussion and post-percussion handguns must be registered and owners must have category one collectorsâ licences.Thatâs right, even percussion cap muzzle-loaders are considered dangerous handguns in Australia. The president of the Historic Arms Collecting Council of Australasia, Gordon Morgan, said the council supported controls on concealable weapons, but putting antique firearms in the same category would "crush our heritage". "We donât shoot these guns. Weâre custodians of our heritage," he said. "The collections in private hands are far greater than any museum in this country." Mr Morgan said the firearms, worth up to $250,000 for pistols used by 19th-century bushrangers, were not a threat to the community. He said owners would rather hand in their guns than go through the registration process, being photographed and fingerprinted. They must now also install security doors and safes in the rooms where the arms are kept. An alternative to the new legislation, Mr Gordon said, would be to allow bona fide members of collecting societies to purchase, show and exchange the weapons. But a spokesman for state Police Minister Andre Haermeyer said that while there were many responsible gun owners and collectors, the measures agreed to by federal, state and territory governments ensured that handguns were used only for legitimate purposes. Apparently, being a collector of antique firearms is not considered legitimate. "What we canât get away from here is that these are guns," the spokesman said. There it is folks, right out in the open. All guns are the same and the public canât be trusted to have any of them. "The object of the national handgun buyback is to ensure that handguns donât make their way onto the streets." I suppose when you have totally disarmed and gelded all the honest citizens, a bad guy with a muzzleloading pistol could run amuck. Gun Control Australia president John Crook said the new storage requirements would be considered onerous by some, but they were needed because antique firearms could still cause harm if stolen and used. As opposed to buying a AK on the black market. "The public has every reason to want as strict a control as possible over every gun," Mr Crook said. Oh, Iâll bet thatâs not how you sold this bill of goods when it first came up. The Federal Government expects to collect 65,000 weapons in the buyback and amnesty scheme. Iâd be burying mine someplace safe. Posted by: Steve 2003-07-28 |
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