The Aussies' Two Cents

Since they banned gun ownership, Australia doesn't have the problems the United States has. Ohhh Nooo.

DATELINE:SYDNEY, April 17, 2007 (AFP) - Prime Minister John Howard said Tuesday that strict gun controls introduced after one of the world's worst massacres by a lone gunman helped Australia avoid a US-style "gun culture". Howard, who ordered the controls after gunman Martin Bryant killed 35 people in a rampage through Port Arthur in Tasmania in 1996, was reacting to Monday's shooting spree at the US Virginia Tech University which left 33 people dead. "We had a terrible incident at Port Arthur. But it is the case that 11 years ago we took action to limit the availability of guns and we showed a national resolve that the gun culture that is such a negative in the United States would never become a negative in our country," he said. Howard told reporters, however, that "you can never guarantee these things won't happen again in our country."

Wellll, let's see how successful Australia's experiment in gun control has been. Just 12 months after Howard ordered gun controls:

• Australia-wide, homicides were up 3.2%.

• Australia-wide, assaults were up 8.6%.

• Australia-wide, armed-robberies were up 44%.

• In the state of Victoria, homicides-with-firearms were up 300%!

• The steady decrease in homicides-with-firearms that occurred during the previous 25 years became an increase in the following 12 months.

• The steady decrease in armed-robbery-with-firearms that occurred during the previous 25 years became an increase in the following 12 months.

• There has been a dramatic increase in break-ins and assaults-of-the-elderly.

• At the time of the ban, the Prime Minister said "self-defense is not a reason for owning a firearm".

• From 1910 to present, homicides in Australia have averaged about 1.8-per-100,000 or lower, a safe society by any standard.

• The ban has destroyed Australia's standings in some international sport shooting competitions.

• The membership of the Australian Sports Shooting Association has increased by 200% in response to the ban and in an attempt to organize against further controls, which are expected.

I have updated stats that are even worse, but they're at home. The lesson is that when guns are banned, crime ALWAYS goes up. When honest citizens are allowed to arm themselves, crime ALWAYS goes down. It's a fact liberals refuse to see.