A Current Affair tonight!

[Madmax]

Hey Pan,
your statement is obviously that of a strict pacifist, nothing wrong with that at all! I just ask you to consider the UK shooters and public. After a school shooting, the UK government banned all sporting shooters handguns, no more legal handguns in the UK. The UK international competition shooters have to travel overseas to practise.
The results = gun crime has escallated out of all proportion. Our mild mannered Bobbies now travel in cars packed to the hilt with high powered firearms in an effort to come to terms with the crims who have lotsa illegal guns. Cops getting murdered by armed crims regularly. Who lost out in this stupid government run exercise? Law abiding shooters. Who won anything? No one at all! Lotsa businesses who catered to law abiding shooters went out of business.
Your only error dear Pan wasto miss out on saying "If you took all "ILLEGAL" guns out of circulation, you may experience fewer gun crimes and gun deaths." Hell of a word to miss out on aye!


Max:ausflag:busa::ausflag:

[Rocketrod]

Much as im a pacifist,i agree that getting rid of guns doesnt solve the problem.The wrong people who want them can still get them.:eyes:

[DjPete]

I agree Rocket.
I don't like guns either but removing them or trying too will not solve the problem. People are doing these things.
If someone wants to kill there are thousands of ways to do it.
And if you want to you WILL find a way.
I believe we are all indirectly responsible as a general population for things like this when they happen just as we are for the environment etc etc.
Letting things go that we could change or do our part to help change.
It is a very sad reflection on mankind.

[spamanglenn]

How many gun crimes are committed by registered weapons?I do think though those law abiding gun owners have a very strict code of conduct within their own household about guns,ensuring no gun related accidents within the family.Govt don,t want to spend money on chasing ghosts(Illegal gun shipments) they would rather chase votes.I totally accept they can create mass carnage in the wrong hands,as can a rottweiler.I think access to firearms by the wrong people is the issue that needs to be taken more seriously by govt.

[RaZz0R]

tried to watch the link - I get sound fine - but no video/picture..... any ideas? :(

http://ninemsn.video.msn.com/v/en-au/v.h...079EC62239&f=&fg=copy

[pan]

Hi Team. Fair comments made by all.

I was interviewed in my office so I had to keep it down to a whisper because there are doctors and other clinicians working around me...

I was basically interviewed for 30-40 minutes, and, as expected, they filtered what was said and used 15 seconds of it, some out of context.

I talked about illegal guns VS registered recreational gun use.
I talked about felonies being committed by unregistered guns.
I talked about psychological care available and how our police and mental health system can help.
I clearly told them I believed people kill people... some use guns, most use knives, some use drugs, cars, bikes, etc...
I clearly told them guns are not to blame!

All that seemed to be projected was that I think we should get rid of guns. That's not what I said though!

My words were:
"If we remove the guns [in my previous sentence I was talking about illegal guns - but they left that out], we remove some of the danger, definitely". I never suggested that cars or bikes don't kill, or that legal guns don't kill. The story on film actually mentioned "illegal guns".

Having said that, I also know (not an unejumacated guess) that serious felonies are committed mostly with illegal guns, but registered guns also make up part of that statistic, although it is a small part.

So in summary, yeh Max, I said, "if you took guns out...".

You suggest, "If you took all "ILLEGAL" guns out of circulation, you may experience fewer gun crimes and gun deaths.". Well said Max. If you had seen my complete interview, that IS what I said. I still think taking all guns away would remove some of the danger, but it may increase danger generally because the "bad guys" would still get them, and we wouldn't have them to defend ourselves! Being like the UK, I think, would be ridiculous.

m8ee, I agree with you mostly. You say, "I know many, many people who own guns, I have grown up with them. I have never met anybody who has been shot, or has shot anybody else outside of a war situation", and I'm sure that's true, but in my work, unfortunately, the opposite is true. Mind you, I'm in prisons assessing violent people most of the time! Not an example of people that are reflective of most of our mates we grew up with (I hope)!

Taking police out of action because they are "to blame" is silly too though. May as well take your brakes off the Busa because you ran into the back of a car once! They are still useful mostly, even if they don't always do the job! (and they keep the Krispy Kream shops busy which is good for the economy )

Thanks for your feedback. It is tragic when stuff like this happens. Knee-jerk reactions by government, like with semi-automatic weapons after Port Arthur IS NOT the solution, I believe.

Paying psychologists more money to do more work on prevention is far better!!!

[m8ee]

fair enough response pan, I failed to realise that the media are very good at cutting and shutting responses to get everything out of context. And also removing police was quite a jump, but I was a bit annoyed at another media beat-up on gun control.

[DjPete]

tried to watch the link - I get sound fine - but no video/picture..... any ideas? :(

http://ninemsn.video.msn.com/v/en-au/v.h...079EC62239&f=&fg=copy

i had same prob Raz

[Tag 13]

ahh gun control. the knee jerking begins again. if there is anyone out there that actually believes that removing guns from the common man is going to stop gun related crime/killings. they are sadly mistaken. it frustrates me that some people actually believe this is the case.

[BUSGO]

The shooter's problem was that he should have used the last bullet first.
End of controversy!

[kawasuki]

Yep, disarm the legal gun users, and then there will be CONTROL. Then the nutters who think the way they do will steal or buy some C4 and blow up a stadium or something along those lines. Instead of the easy fix,, the Gov. should put $$ into scanning containers,, instead of 1 in a 1000 as they do now,,, it could be 2 in a 1000.

[jessie928]

"Guns don't kill people, people kill people"

it had to be said..ehehehe

[The Wild Wind]

(avoids eye contact, and backs out quietly....)

[m8ee]

(avoids eye contact, and backs out quietly....)

LOL - and shut the fucken door on the way out

[kawasuki]

Do any of the members know how long it takes to get a handgun Lic.?
Well it would be around 6 months before u get your hands on your own gun. I went to the range for 12 weeks after joining the club and doing a 2 night safety course, in those 12 weeks u are graded by the range officer,u have to pass all the required safety tests, after u have satisfied the club captain that u are qualified(character etc.) to have a lic. they will issue u the paper work so u can apply to the police for your Lic.after that a  permit to aquire a firearm. Then the police will check your records etc in that time, which takes approx 4-6weeks then after that u can purchase a handgun and that will take another 4-6 weeks(after the cooling off period) . So there is a fair bit to do and a fair cost involved getting a handgun Lic.
Club fees $400 per year
Lic         $100
Your gun $1500
U have to do at least 8 shoots a year at your club to keep your Lic.
and u have to sign in with club number ,and that goes to the Gun registy each year, if u dont do these shoots u will loose your gun.
I could be corrected in the above,its been a long time since i got my Lic.
Also forgot the safe storage(safe dyno bolted to wall and floor) and it has to be inspected by the police and signed off by them.