posted 06-30-2001 08:48 AM            

The Australian experience

A Sobering Message from Australia!

Hi Yanks, I thought you all would like to see the real figures from Down

Under. It has now been 12 months since gun owners in Australia were
forced
by a new law to surrender 640,381 personal firearms to be destroyed by
our
own government, a program costing Australia taxpayers more than $500
million
dollars.

The first year results are now in: Australia-wide, homicides are up 3.2
percent,. Australia-wide, assaults are up 8.6 percent; Australia-wide,
armed
robberies are up 44 percent (yes, 44 percent!) In the state of Victoria
alone, homicides with firearms are now up 300 percent. (Note that while
the
law-abiding citizens turned them in, the criminals did not and criminals

still possess their guns!)
While figures over the previous 25 years showed a steady decrease in
armed
robbery with firearms, this has changed drastically upward in the past
12
months, since the criminals now are guaranteed that their prey is
unarmed.
There has also been a dramatic increase in break-ins and assaults of the

elderly. Australian politicians are at a loss to explain how public
safety
has decreased, after such monumental effort and expense was expended in
"successfully ridding Australian society of guns."

You won't see this data on the American evening news or hear your
governor
or members of the state Assembly disseminating this information. The
Australian experience proves it. Guns in the hands of honest citizens
save
lives and property and, yes, gun-control laws affect only the
law-abiding
citizens. Take note Americans, before it's to late!