From: Tim McCann <[tim mccann] at [worldnet.att.net]>
Newsgroups: utah.general,nv.general,va.general
Subject: Re: Senator Lautenberg and Clinton to make one last-ditch grab for your gun rights!
Date: 11 Mar 1999 12:56:01 GMT

What Gun Control has done for Australia!

One year after gun-owners were forced to surrender 640,381 personal
firearms, including semi-automatic .22 rifles and shotguns, to be
destroyed in a government program costing over 500 million dollars, the
results are in... 

The latest crime statistics reveal a dramatic increase in criminal
activity. Gun control advocates respond "Just wait... we'll be safer...
you'll see...". 

Unfortunately, the ban has made the Australian criminal safer now. 

Australia-wide, homicides are up 3.2%. 
Australia-wide, assaults are up 8.6%. 
Australia-wide, armed-robberies are up 44%. (yes, FORTY-FOUR PERCENT) 
In the state of Victoria, homicides-with-firearms are up 300%! 

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

The steady decrease in armed-robbery-with-firearms that occurred during
the previous 25 years became an increase in the last 12 months. 
There has been a dramatic increase in 
breakins-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. 

Australian politicians are on the spot and at a loss to explain why no
improvement in "safety" has been observed after such monumental effort
and expense was successfully expended in "ridding society of guns".
Their response has been to "wait longer".