People urged to handover illegal or unwanted firearms (Australia)

[davepc]

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,24430137-2862,00.html

VICTORIANS holding illegal or unwanted firearms are being urged to hand them to police under amnesty this month.

Victorian Police Minister Bob Cameron said today the amnesty provided Victorians an opportunity to surrender weapons to police without facing penalties.

"This amnesty is being offered to reduce the overall number of weapons in the community and also help individuals who are unsure about how to properly dispose of firearms.''

He said the Government had worked to toughen up weapons and firearms laws, including a zero tolerance approach to carrying weapons in or near licensed venues.

Deputy Commissioner Kieran Walshe said the amnesty offered assistance to people who may wish to dispose of firearms they no longer used.

At a press conference this morning, he displayed a "powerful'' firearm from World War II that had been found by a family in their father-in-law's house after he died.

[Ilsa]

1. Soooo, the honest people will hand over their weapons, while

the criminals... we all know the rest of that phrase.

No fucking way would I hand over my gun or sword. I don't even own one at the moment, but no fucking way.

[hendo]

2. yes

but then if you used it to defend yourself, you would be the one going to jail. oddly enough. :(

[tburnsten]

4. Oddly enough they aren't illegal

The amnesty turn-ins only applies to "illegal guns", whatever that means, they are also emphasizing that if citizens have a gun they do not want anymore for whatever reason they can turn those in as well.

[hendo]

5. it means

that all firearms were outlawed. all guns are illegal.

[tburnsten]

6. A member of another forum I frequent

Is a legal firearms owner in australia. He does a lot of pest control hunting for farmers/ranchers, which in australia means goats and kangaroos. Firearms are not illegal in australia, just heavily restricted. The turn in is amnesty for criminals who might want to change their ways, *and* a way for people to dispose of firearms they do not want or do not know what to do with. thanks to intiatives like this one, firearms ownership seems to be heavily discouraged and stigmatized.

[TXsmitty]

9. Bullshit. I'm in Aussie right now.

And guns are completely legal if the required paperwork is taken care of.

[JonQ]

3. Have these trade ins

ever been shown to reduce crime? It seems to be a kind of insanity that keeps cropping up from time to time: it didn't work every other time it has been tried, so let's try it again and this time it will work. It may provide a convenient way for people who inherited a gun they don't want to get rid of the thing (and probably make some money in the process), but I doubt those are the demographic most responsible for gun crimes. For a criminal a gun is a tool of his trade, asking him to turn it in would be like asking a carpenter to give up all of his woodworking tools, doesn't make alot of sense.

[Endangered Specie]

7. Any bets that the "POWERFUL WWII weapon" was a Lee Enfield?

:eyes:

[old mark]

8. That was my first thought, too...Some collecter here will cry

over the idea if it being destroyed by the police.
(I have one in my safe right now.)
mark