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Down Under
Thousands of Guns Handed over in Australia Amnesty
2017-08-09
[AnNahar] More than 6,000 guns have been surrendered in Australia's most populous state in just one month, police said Tuesday, after fears of terrorism and an influx of illegal firearms sparked a national amnesty.

The government said in June it believed there were as many as 260,000 illicit weapons on the streets, and with the threat of bully boy attacks and a spate of gangland shootings, it wanted to minimise the danger.
Australia has six states and two mainland territories, so that averages 36,667 illegal weapons in each.
Among the weapons handed over in New South Wales were four SKS assault rifles, a 9mm homemade sub-machine gun, a Colt AR-15 rifle, M1 carbine and a .44 calibre magnum revolver, state police said.

In total, some 1,700 rifles, 460 shotguns and nearly 200 handguns were surrendered to police and dealers, while thousands of others were handed in for registration.
So really, 2,360 guns were turned in, while somewhat more than 3,640 were registered.
"We've also received more than 110 prohibited weapons including samurai swords, knives, and other edged weapons," Detective Chief Inspector Wayne Hoffman said.
...plus 110 other weapons not included in the count, unless we're really going for total illegal weapons, in which case it's 2,470, or 6.7% of what's out there. And of course, they were turned in by the law-abiding, who won't be committing acts of terror.
No official figures have been announced yet for other states and territories.

The amnesty runs from July 1 until September 30, allowing people to hand in unregistered or unwanted firearms with no questions asked. Outside that period people face fines of up to Aus$280,000 (US$222,000) or 14 years' jail.

Gun control measures continue to have strong public support in Australia.

The national firearms amnesty is the first since the 1996 Port Arthur mass shooting that claimed 35 lives. More than 600,000 weapons were destroyed in the aftermath of that attack, during a gun buy-back in which compensation was offered.
Best case scenario is that 18,800 guns will be turned in for destruction this time, or 7.2% of what is believed to be out there, while the crime syndicates will happily and illegally import more.
Then-prime minister John Howard also enacted tougher gun laws, including bans on certain weapons such as rapid-fire rifles and shotguns, a minimum ownership age and licences.

All guns in Australia must be registered, but many arrive illegally from overseas through organised syndicates.

Australian officials have grown increasingly concerned over the threat of bully boy attacks and have prevented 13 on home soil since September 2014.

Several terror attacks have taken place in Australia in recent years, including a Sydney cafe siege in 2014 which saw two hostages killed.
Posted by:trailing wife

#1  They are big on kool-aid in Nuevo California.
Posted by: ed in texas   2017-08-09 16:11  

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