SPORTING SHOOTERS ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALIA.

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Tools to set the record straight.

Recently in South Australia, the SSAA was faced with several newspaper articles about handgun-related crime and the 1996 gun buyback. SSAA National and SSAA South Australia contacted the media regarding this matter and have clarified several issues and misconceptions. However, SSAA National would like to take the opportunity to forward some of the facts surrounding topics, which have been raised by Australia’s media to draw negative attention to private firearm ownership:

• Australian Federal Police Commissioner Tony Negus said this week that $15 billion is earned per year through organised crime in Australia, half of which is drug related. Gun-related crime primarily results from other crime activities surrounding gangs and drugs.
• The Australian Institute of Criminology indicates that almost all crimes involving a gun are performed by an unlicensed person with an unregistered gun.
• Of the estimated 760,000 licensed firearms owners in Australia, about 700 report firearm robberies each year. This is a miniscule percentage (0.09%) of firearms that potentially enter the illegal market in this manner. This includes thefts from security guards, but not from the police or Defence Force personnel.
• Contrary to popular belief, the 1996 gun buyback has not had an impact on reducing gun crime or mass shootings. Amnesties target law-abiding firearm owners who have their firearms stored and registered as required. Criminals by their nature do not hand in firearms to amnesties.
• Between 1996 and today, there have been no large-scale mass shootings in Australia and this is sometimes stated as evidence of the success of the gun buyback. However, New Zealand has never had a buyback and semi-automatic firearms are still legal and for the same period, New Zealand has not experienced a mass shooting.
• Contrary to the throwaway line from gun prohibitionists that ‘firearms are easy to legally obtain’, all Australian states require training and criminal licensing checks. National laws also dictate a six-month probationary period and it can take up to nine months to even own a small-calibre firearm such as a .22 handgun, which can only be used at a handgun club with minimum attendances required.

By being armed with this knowledge, you, as a SSAA state or territory member, can be proactive in correcting inaccurate or unbalanced news reporting.

[size=[b]Recent news coverage[/b]]
Time to move beyond gun buyback, The Advertiser, May 27.
Failed buyback probable source of M16, The Advertiser, May 27.
A short course and bang - you have a gun licence, The Advertiser, May 27.

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One of the links and readers commentson the above. This is the feeling being generated in Aust. by the unprecedented rise of criminal activity since the gun ban. My coment has not been included. Maybe tomorrow, who knows?

Haz.

Time to move beyond gun buyback.

• May 27, 2010 7:42AM
• 13 comments

ISOLATE incidents in the past week could leave many with the impression that South Australia is wracked with mindless violence.

The raids carried out on the Agape cult provide yet another chapter in the wacky crimes catalogue for which the state has become known.

Just as right-minded South Australians recovered from that shock, on Tuesday two young policemen narrowly escaped death or serious injury when they were lured into a trap at Paralowie.

On the same day two men, of Andrews Farm and Munno Para West, were charged with acts to endanger life.

The threat to public safety in every instance is the same - firearms. Stockpiled by the cult, fired at police in anger, used to intimidate a householder, the message is the same for all incidents - SA has a gun problem.

Given our history of stable democracy and traditionally low crime rate, the only people who need guns in this state are the armed forces, sporting marksmen, police, some security guards and farmers.

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• 
  Mick [/b]Posted at 8:10 AM May 27, 2010[/i]
  
  
  Laws only effect the law abiding. The M16 isnt a semi automatic weapon, its the military fully automatic weapon and its already completely impossible for any civilian to get legally. The John Howard buy back achieved nothing at all - all of these crimes are committed by unlicensed shooters with unregistered illegal firearms. When will licensed law abiding firearms owners stop paying for crimes they never committed?
  ​
  Comment 1 of 13
  
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  Russell Edwards of Vic [/b]Posted at 8:41 AM May 27, 2010[/i]
  
  
  Please provide a reference for the supposed great service of the 1996 gun laws. Several peer-reviewed scholarly studies have found the gun laws and buyback caused NO measurable effect on firearm homicide. In light of this research, the gun laws have been nothing but a gargantuan waste of money, and a great injustice for legitimate shooters who are now unfairly blamed for all society's ills. For these reasons they should NOT be be expanded. They should be repealed.
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  Comment 2 of 13
  
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  skip of Adelaide [/b]Posted at 8:48 AM May 27, 2010[/i]
  
  
  Gun buybacks have done nothing to reduce numbers of "unregistered firearms" it only targets the legitimate firearm owners who are not causing any problems
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  Comment 3 of 13
  
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  Rockyg [/b]Posted at 9:22 AM May 27, 2010[/i]
  
  
  What a load of rubbish. The vast majority of offenses involving firearms are by criminals with "unlicensed" weapons, just like Bryant. No matter what laws are put in place criminals will always have access to black market guns. Disarm law abiding citizens? I'm sure that will work! NOT. Many countries have even abandoned licensing systems as an expensive waste of time, which has been backed by academic studies and reports. Firearms are a good bit of hysterical reporting for the media, however the real problem is much deeper, if people are intent on causing harm they can use anything from a brick to a screwdriver and in most cases it is a knife. Do we ban all these too?
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  Comment 4 of 13
  
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  Matt of Unley [/b]Posted at 10:09 AM May 27, 2010[/i]
  
  
  You ask that something else needs to be done to make the system more effective... Well what about targeting criminals and their behaviours and forget about putting more restrictions on law abiding firearm owners. We actually follow the laws and the criminals in our society don't. That's the simple fact that gets too often ignored. They have committed all the gun related crime that has been reported recently. They are all unlicensed and have illegally obtained the firearms. If laws were tightened for law abiding citizens, these poor excuses of human beings would still not follow them.
  ​
  Comment 5 of 13
  
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  CJ of Northern Adelaide [/b]Posted at 10:18 AM May 27, 2010[/i]
  
  
  Yes that's right we took the guns away from the legitimate owners and what did that give us?
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  Comment 6 of 13
  
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  Chris [/b]Posted at 11:30 AM May 27, 2010[/i]
  
  
  The emotional climate of 1996 resulted in laws that place very unfair burdens on innocent Australians that use firearms in daily life. Research shows the high cost and regulatory burdens were not particularly beneficial in terms of lives saved or reduced violence. A new Agreement on firearms should keep the helpful parts while dropping the parts that are based in elite contempt. What helped: - The national framework to prevent leakage to the black market; - Shooter licences with background checks; - Safe storage standards. What is excessive and should be removed: - Long waiting periods drawn out further by bureaucratic delays. - Way excessive restriction on ordinary sporting guns like semi-auto .22s and repeating shotguns. - Excessive restrictions on air rifles, air pistols and replicas; - Viciously excessive requirements on pistol club probation and attendance. - Denial of the human right of self-defense as a genuine reason. - Obstructive police policy and abuse of police discretion. - Waste of the public's time and money through bad process design and failure to use technology. Fourteen years is enough. Its time these offensive laws were fixed.
  ​
  Comment 7 of 13
  
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  Tim of Adelaide [/b]Posted at 11:53 AM May 27, 2010[/i]
  
  
  Never came so close to voting labor in my life. Howard's knee jerk reaction to Bryant was a joke. when I handed my licenced guns in I didn't see one drug dealer, thug, bikie, crook, thief or nutter doing the same. All the buy back did was penalise the law abiding citizens of Australia. It was politics and symbolism at it's best.
  ​
  Comment 8 of 13
  
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  Bill of A land down under. [/b]Posted at 12:03 PM May 27, 2010[/i]
  
  
  This is sensationalist journalism. Through the gun buyback the government took guns from legitimate law abiding citizens while doing nothing about the criminals who are still able to obtain these weapons through the black market. It was a typical "we have to be seen to be doing something" reaction from an overly conservative leader.
  ​
  Comment 9 of 13
  
• 
  Richy of Adelaide [/b]Posted at 12:29 PM May 27, 2010[/i]
  
  
  Gun ownership should be legal for home defence. If somebody has broken into your property at 3am then you should have the right to defend yourself by any means. I can't say I'm interested in firearm ownership, and have never fired a weapon, but if somebody broke into my place at 3am I'd put them down and make sure they stayed down and weren't moving before contemplating calling police. If you aren't safe in your own home, you'll never be safe anywhere.
  ​
  Comment 10 of 13
  
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  Richy of Adelaide [/b]Posted at 12:31 PM May 27, 2010[/i]
  
  
  I can't remember what state it was in the US, but they introduced a law allowing citizens to carry concealed weapons in public. There was an outcry from some fearing wild west shoot-outs on the streets. The outcome was more surprising - a drop in crime. Why? Because the crooks didn't know if the little granny they were about to rob was going to pull a gun on them.
  ​
  Comment 11 of 13
  
• 
  Tim Bannister of Adelaide [/b]Posted at 12:33 PM May 27, 2010[/i]
  
  
  It's good that an occasional illegal gun crime still shocks Adelaidians. It hardly raises an eyebrow in Bankstown or Redfern. Tackle the drugs and gangs and illegal gun crime will drop.
  ​
  Comment 12 of 13
  
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  David McCarthy President of Sporting Shooters' Association of Australia SA [/b]Posted at 12:51 PM May 27, 2010[/i]
  
  
  Australian Federal Police Commissioner Tony Negus recently stated that $15 billion is earned per year through organised crime in Australia, half of which is drug related. Gun-related crime primarily results from crime gangs, drug-related activities and sadly, mental health issues. The Australian Institute of Criminology indicates that almost all crimes involving guns are performed by unlicensed people with an unregistered gun. The 1996 buyback only targeted law-abiding firearm owners. Gun amnesties only work if criminals hand in guns. Additionally, to imply that there hasn’t been a mass shooting is non sequitur. In the same period in New Zealand, which has not had a buyback and semi-automatic firearms remain legal, there has not been a mass shooting. Contrary to what gun prohibitionists say, there are numerous checks and waiting periods to obtain a firearms licence and an actual firearm. In the case of handguns, it can be up to nine months before you can buy a small-calibre handgun. The SSAA (www.ssaa.org.au) educates and encourages its members to securely store their firearms and believes money and effort would be better spent on mental health and tackling drug-related crime.
  ​
  Comment 13 of 13

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And another. Keep up the fight to retain your right to keep and bear arms my friends in the USA.

Haz.

Failed buyback probable source of M16

• SAM RODRIGUES, KATE KYRIACOU
• From: The Advertiser
• May 27, 2010 12:01AM
• 13 comments

SHARP SHOOTING: Andrew marks with son Jess at the Marksman Range in Adelaide yesterday. Picture: MATT TURNER Source: AdelaideNow


THE military assault rifle used in Tuesday's police shooting is likely to be a gun that made its way on to the black market 15 years ago in the wake of the Port Arthur massacre.

Former gun dealers and collectors said the M16 assault rifle probably found its way into circulation during the national gun buyback in 1996 through a Queensland gun dealer.

Two policemen were wounded after they were fired upon through the front door of a Paralowie home.

The occupant, a 34-year-old man, has been charged with two counts of attempted murder.

While the buyback ordered South Australians to hand guns into police stations for processing and destruction, looser laws in Queensland created a black market for many firearms.

Firearms hit the black market, not through clandestine imports, but predominantly through theft and following blitzes and amnesties.

SA Police's Firearms Branch said every firearm surrendered in SA was destroyed.



Start of sidebar. Skip to end of sidebar.







Related Coverage

• Gun safety laws in firing line Herald Sun[/i], 8 Mar 2010[/i]
• Amnesty guns with criminals Adelaide Now[/i], 14 Nov 2009[/i]
• Police raid finds 65 guns Adelaide Now[/i], 13 Nov 2009[/i]
• Police computer counted non-existent guns Adelaide Now[/i], 20 Oct 2009[/i]
• The loaded question of self-defence Adelaide Now[/i], 11 Oct 2009[/i]

End of sidebar. Return to start of sidebar.

Deactivation of firearms in SA is done by police ballistics experts, but other states had allowed for registered dealers to certify the deactivation of fellow dealers' guns.

Opposition Leader Isobel Redmond blamed the shooting of the officers on the state's "failed" mental health system and claimed Premier Mike Rann was accountable.

She said the shooting was a "frightening example" of the dangers faced by police due to a ballooning number of mentally ill people who are left to fend for themselves.

Mental Health Minister John Hill said Ms Redmond's comments were "a pathetic attempt to try and make political points out of a very unfortunate set of circumstances".

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Tools to set the record straight
Recently in South Australia, the SSAA was faced with several newspaper articles about handgun-related crime and the 1996 gun buyback. SSAA National and SSAA South Australia contacted the media regarding this matter and have clarified several issues and misconceptions. However, SSAA National would like to take the opportunity to forward some of the facts surrounding topics, which have been raised by Australia’s media to draw negative attention to private firearm ownership:

• Australian Federal Police Commissioner Tony Negus said this week that $15 billion is earned per year through organised crime in Australia, half of which is drug related. Gun-related crime primarily results from other crime activities surrounding gangs and drugs.
• The Australian Institute of Criminology indicates that almost all crimes involving a gun are performed by an unlicensed person with an unregistered gun.
• Of the estimated 760,000 licensed firearms owners in Australia, about 700 report firearm robberies each year. This is a miniscule percentage (0.09%) of firearms that potentially enter the illegal market in this manner. This includes thefts from security guards, but not from the police or Defence Force personnel.
• Contrary to popular belief, the 1996 gun buyback has not had an impact on reducing gun crime or mass shootings. Amnesties target law-abiding firearm owners who have their firearms stored and registered as required. Criminals by their nature do not hand in firearms to amnesties.
• Between 1996 and today, there have been no large-scale mass shootings in Australia and this is sometimes stated as evidence of the success of the gun buyback. However, New Zealand has never had a buyback and semi-automatic firearms are still legal and for the same period, New Zealand has not experienced a mass shooting.
• Contrary to the throwaway line from gun prohibitionists that ‘firearms are easy to legally obtain’, all Australian states require training and criminal licensing checks. National laws also dictate a six-month probationary period and it can take up to nine months to even own a small-calibre firearm such as a .22 handgun, which can only be used at a handgun club with minimum attendances required.

[align=right]




Tools to set the record straight
Recently in South Australia, the SSAA was faced with several newspaper articles about handgun-related crime and the 1996 gun buyback. SSAA National and SSAA South Australia contacted the media regarding this matter and have clarified several issues and misconceptions. However, SSAA National would like to take the opportunity to forward some of the facts surrounding topics, which have been raised by Australia’s media to draw negative attention to private firearm ownership:[/align]

• Australian Federal Police Commissioner Tony Negus said this week that $15 billion is earned per year through organised crime in Australia, half of which is drug related. Gun-related crime primarily results from other crime activities surrounding gangs and drugs.
• The Australian Institute of Criminology indicates that almost all crimes involving a gun are performed by an unlicensed person with an unregistered gun.
• Of the estimated 760,000 licensed firearms owners in Australia, about 700 report firearm robberies each year. This is a miniscule percentage (0.09%) of firearms that potentially enter the illegal market in this manner. This includes thefts from security guards, but not from the police or Defence Force personnel.
• Contrary to popular belief, the 1996 gun buyback has not had an impact on reducing gun crime or mass shootings. Amnesties target law-abiding firearm owners who have their firearms stored and registered as required. Criminals by their nature do not hand in firearms to amnesties.
• Between 1996 and today, there have been no large-scale mass shootings in Australia and this is sometimes stated as evidence of the success of the gun buyback. However, New Zealand has never had a buyback and semi-automatic firearms are still legal and for the same period, New Zealand has not experienced a mass shooting.
• Contrary to the throwaway line from gun prohibitionists that ‘firearms are easy to legally obtain’, all Australian states require training and criminal licensing checks. National laws also dictate a six-month probationary period and it can take up to nine months to even own a small-calibre firearm such as a .22 handgun, which can only be used at a handgun club with minimum attendances required.

By being armed with this knowledge, you, as a SSAA state or territory member, can be proactive in correcting inaccurate or unbalanced news reporting.

This is what Australian sporting shooters have to continually put up with after any and every crime involving a firearm. Please American firearm owners, stand up for and continue to fight for your right to own a firearms and be allowed to defend yourselves with it.
Haz.
SSAA National opposes call for handgun ban
SSAA National today distributed a press release to media outlets across the country in response to the National Coalition for Gun Control’s call for a nationwide handgun ban.

The antigun lobby group is using Monday’s tragic murder of a security guard as leverage for their cause. The group is attempting to link handguns on the ‘black market’ with licensed handgun owners.

SSAA National recently contacted E-alert subscribers, providing them with the ‘Tools to set the record straight’ about firearms ownership and licensing in Australia.

We encourage you to use this information and the information provided in today’s press release and write to your local media outlets to assist us in spreading the correct message.

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For immediate release 9 June 2010

SSAA National labels handgun ban appeal as ludicrous

The Sporting Shooters’ Association of Australia (SSAA National) today refuted calls by the National Coalition for Gun Control to ban handgun ownership in Australia, labelling their claims as both opportunistic and ludicrous.

The antigun lobby group’s calls have come in light of Monday’s tragic murder of Sydney security officer Gary Allibon. Their effort to tie in the attempted robbery of an armoured vehicle with licensed handgun club shooters is plainly illogical. The fact is, according to the Australian Institute of Criminology’s ‘Firearm theft in Australia 2007-08’ report, handguns owned by private licensed shooters are the least likely of all firearms to enter the ‘black market’. It is for this very reason that security guards can be targeted by criminals.

Of the 760,000 licensed rifle, shotgun and handgun owners in Australia, about 700 report firearm robberies each year. This is a miniscule percentage (0.09%) of firearms that potentially enter the illegal market in this manner. This includes thefts from security guards, but not from the police or Defence Force personnel.

SSAA National, and its 130,000 members, has always taken firearms security seriously. In late 2009, the Association was commended by Home Affairs Minister Brendan O’Connor for its Secure Your Guns, Secure Your Sport and national Gun Safe Voucher programs.

For more information about handgun ownership regulations in Australia and further facts on firearm ownership, click on the Fast facts for journalists link.

To receive your complimentary copy of A Journalist’s Guide to Firearms and the Shooting Sports, visit www.ssaa.org.au/media-centre

For media enquiries, contact SSAA National Senior Vice President Bob Cooper on 0407 553 281.

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I hope this is of interest to the members of this board. Haz.

18 June 2010.
SSAA National addresses UN Small Arms and
Light Weapons Meeting
SSAA National addressed a United Nations Small Arms and Light Weapons Meeting this week, reminding Member States of the value that law-abiding firearm owners can have in our communities.

SSAA National President Bob Green and Tim Bannister attended the ‘Fourth Biennial Meeting of States to Consider the Implementation of the Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects’ in New York from June 14 to 18.

Tim addressed the Meeting on behalf of the SSAA, distinguishing the difference between legal, legitimate private firearms ownership and the meeting’s focus to control the illicit and criminal use of firearms.

“As a United Nations NGO [Non-Government Organisation], it is our role to ensure the protection of our sport and recreation, while also offering our depth of knowledge and experience in firearms to assist those who are the subject of firearms misuse and violence,” he said.

Tim also discussed recreational hunting and the good work done by law-abiding SSAA members to manage Australia’s introduced species, calling hunters “wildlife custodians and conservationists”.

SSAA National’s full statement and those from other Member States are available on the Capital News webpage.