My 2 cents on this topic, if I may:

Living in America, we have every single nationality , race, religious belief and language spoken ,..... and that's just in California!! That may have something to do with the degree of violence in our country.

To my fellow Cobra brothers, if you are ok with turning in all your firearms to the government, that's fine with me. I'm not trying to have a pissing contest on whose country's gun laws are better or worse.

At least for right now, if I deem it necessary to own a pistol or shotgun and keep it in my house for defensive purposes, I have the legal RIGHT to do so. If my neighbor doesn't want a gun in his house, then that's his CHOICE. When a government decides for a whole country that they cannot keep a pistol in their end tables, who will then help defend them when an intruder(s) enters their house at 3:19AM for not so benevolent purposes?

"boxhead": What if a criminal breaks into your house with the intent on robbery, but while there, holding a gun on your whole family, takes a fancy to your wife or your 2 adorable 11 and 13yr. old daughters?

I prefer to to have the right to defend myself.

Clois' post is actually some pretty old material, pulled together about a year or so after the great Australian gun ban took effect. The purpose of that data was to impart to Americans generally, and gun-control-advocates specifically, that there is a downside to trying to wipe out private ownership of firearms. Whether it did or not is a matter of ample conjecture. Since that ban has been in place for several years now, it would be good to see some more-current data to see if there actually is a difference beyond subjective good feelings.

Different cultures breed different perspectives on life - too many differences between here and there to make much out of simple data. To each their own. Amazingly enough, there are still many who want to live in The Sudan or in Chad, too.

It's good to see there is some rationale applied to the give-backs, and not just simple emotional bile. It deserves to be mentioned, at least in passing, that those dreaded military style semi autos represent an insignificant proportion of gun crime here in America. http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/pdf/guic.pdf Again, this data is pretty old, but factual nonetheless.

More likely to be killed by a deadly spider than a burglar down under. We use shoes or rolled up newspapers for that. Possibly why we don't have a gun problem?

:)

Sign me up! :3DSMILE:

COBRA427

"boxhead": What if a criminal breaks into your house with the intent on robbery, but while there, holding a gun on your whole family, takes a fancy to your wife or your 2 adorable 11 and 13yr. old daughters?

Yes I agree that if that was to happen I would do my utmost to stop it from happening, but in Australia where the gun laws are tight, there is far less chance of it happening than in your home town.


Sambo

More likely to be killed by a deadly spider than a burglar down under. We use shoes or rolled up newspapers for that. Possibly why we don't have a gun problem?

Sounds about right to me.

Interesting that the vast majority of gun crime is hand guns. We have much fewer hand guns in Australia due to our stric laws for hand gun ownership. Anyone wanting to own one can only realisticly use it at a gun range and the licensing and storage requirements have been tough for a very long time. To keep a hand gun My current rifle safe wouldn't pass and it's made from 3mm steel plate with internal hinges and 3 locking points.

You also need more than a letter from your mum to get a hand gun licence.

The more common firearm for criminals for a long time is sawn off shotguns and rifles. All modifications to make the weapon easier to conceal.

I think the US is in a difficult position with gun control. If Obama wants to do anything about it he'll have a difficult time. You already have such a huge number in circulation and a whole industry and economy revolving around them. The gun is so entrenched in US culture that you can't let it go.

Cheers

...

I was on a gun forum the other day and somebody started talking about cars. I was so disgusted ...I could'a just spit. Nearly anyone can own them and they kill a lot of people, well most of them actually. Sure, car nuts will claim it's the drivers ...not the hardware. :(

"More likely to be killed by a deadly spider than a burglar down under. We use shoes or rolled up newspapers for that. Possibly why we don't have a gun problem?"

That does bring up an interesting point. We don't have a newspaper problem, but shoes are another thing entirely. A well known government employee was recently attacked by shoes while doing his job. Lucky for him he was good at ducking. Like he'd done it before.

http://blog.wired.com/photos/uncateg.../bushoes_3.gif

And it wasn't like he wasn't armed, so there goes that theory of wearing them for self protection. Yeah ...that's right he had a matched pair, probably Italian collectibles, but he couldn't get them in a firing position ahead of time. God, I wish he would have though, right on camera. That would have been so cool to watch. Like OK Corral. :MECOOL:

You can bet that government security is going to start watching for shoes ready to go ...er ...come ....off.
I've recognized that danger for a long time. It didn't take a horrid public incident for me. Just the other day I was walking in the mall and a guy walking the other way was packing. That is so common in America, both feet. The thing was, he had one untied. I watched him over my shoulder until he was out of range.

For those that enjoy the sport...http://sockandawe.com/ :JEKYLHYDE

Just having fun, guys. At someone elses expense, natch. ;)

Wes


...

You reckon at future presidential press conferences that there will be a strict no slip-on policy and all laces must be tied with a double knot? :p

Well, they used to just watch for shifty guys with their hands in their coats or pockets, but I'll bet they focus more on people bent over now. It must be quite the dilemma, Mike.

I bet one more time and the press corp will be barefooted at conferences. Especially seeing as how O' hasn't bird-hunted with Cheney, and may not be so gifted at ducking. :LOL:

I know. I'm bad. :o

Wes


...

Clois,

MMmmmm sorry I don't know...:3DSMILE:

I only have a mutton gun..:LOL: It's loaded with ammunition and I have no one to shoot at..:LOL:

Hey, how did we get onto guns - what's happening over there in Oklahoma..:confused: Have you finished the Daytona and tunned the Cobra..:confused:

Bernie
BMK

Wes Tausend

:LOL: Did that well known Government employee get the shoe or the boot.....

...

I think he got a well deserved retirement. He's looking gray. Eight years of that spotlight is all about anyone can take ...and the fickle public is never kind at the end. Good thing eight's all that's allowed. ;)

Wes


...

ive been a sporting shooter for over 35 years and ill tell you one thing if little jerkoff johnny was serious about saving lives instead of playing wedge politics, with the money he spent buying back guns off law abiding citizens he could have bought 2 brand new cars with driving instructors for every high school in australia and saved hundreds of lives of our youth teaching them how to really handle a car. that my friends would have been positive, but he was only interested in jumping on whatever bandwagon came along to prolong his career and pull the wool over all your eyes. it took 4 elections for enough australians to finally wake up and see through him. in finland, you cant get a drivers license unless youve learnt how to power slide a car and theyve got one of the lowest accident death rates in the world, here, a reverse park will do. then theres the speed kills campaign filling the govt coffers with fines for people doing 103 in a 100 zone, what a joke, theyve certainly pulled the publics pants down and bent youse all over. australia is just about the most over policed and goverened country in the world. tomcat.

Tomcat, I believe our new community organizer, is trying to take the position of most governed country. Never underestimate the power or smell of B.O.

Clois...you might complete that excellent closing by writing...
 

...."With guns, we are citizens......Without guns, we are subjects (or serfs).."

TJ---although a liberal (on most subjects) and a Freethinker (and therefore probably an atheist) STILL realized that an armed citizenry was the ONLY guarantee that the government would serve the people's interest and not the other way around. However---unnerving and unbelievable amounts of ignorance and sheeplike passivity have made the prospect of armed rebellion a moot point....

Gone are the days!

Yes, indeed....gone over seven decades ago, when the odds of technical small arms parity were eviscerated by the National Firearms Act of 1934.

To say nothing of larger pieces and their carriages, modern in particular.