Police Conduct Home Gun Audits...

[JohnRich 4]

In the news, from Australia:

GUN owners can expect a knock on the door in coming weeks with police conducting firearms safety audits... The audits are being conducted statewide, with registered gun owners notified by mail earlier this year. "We're not going out there just to charge people or revenue raise, we're just making sure people are following regulations."

The audits focus on safe storage of weapons. All firearms owners must meet or exceed storage requirements for their licence category, store ammunition in a locked container separate from firearms, ensure firearms are unloaded at all times when stored and meet specific storage requirements for the transportation and temporary storage of all firearms...

Full Story Here

[AggieDave 6]

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The audits focus on safe storage of weapons. All firearms owners must meet or exceed storage requirements for their licence category, store ammunition in a locked container separate from firearms, ensure firearms are unloaded at all times when stored and meet specific storage requirements for the transportation and temporary storage of all firearms...

Fuck that. How am I supposed to defend my home and family if all of my weapons are locked away, unloaded in seperate lockers?

I'll just shine a flashlight at the perp in my house, yell at him and hope he isn't armed.

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[Jimbo 0]

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Fuck that. How am I supposed to defend my home and family if all of my weapons are locked away, unloaded in seperate lockers?

I'll just shine a flashlight at the perp in my house, yell at him and hope he isn't armed.

Sheesh Dave, didn't you know? Australia is a civilized society. No need to worry about defending yourself.

Really, you should keep up on these things.

-
Jim

"Like" - The modern day comma
Good bye, my friends. You are missed.

[AggieDave 6]

Oh, man, sorry, forgot about that. I should move there, they have NO crime...

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[JesseP 0]

No, but many less tragic shootings.

[peacefuljeffrey 0]

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No, but many less tragic shootings.

The word ya want is "fewer."

And I wouldn't want to live where they make huge legislative decisions that confiscate private property from millions of law-abiding citizens just because of the actions of a single person, or even several people. They had that shooting in Tasmania and they decided it was enough to mean that ALL gun owners had to get screwed and pay for it. That's bullshit, and it's no way to run a country.
-

-Jeffrey
"With tha thoughts of a militant mind... Hard line, hard line after hard line!"

[JesseP 0]

No, the word I wanted was the one I wrote. I'm sure people will be able to understand that I wasn't saying that Australia's shootings are less tragic when they happen, but we do have LESS of them.

[AggieDave 6]

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I wasn't saying that Australia's shootings are less tragic when they happen, but we do have LESS of them.

Prove it, show me real numbers from an independant source. Show me numbers that prove it made a difference since facist style gun control has been in effect. Show me the break down according to population numbers.

You made a claim, now you have to prove it.

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[peacefuljeffrey 0]

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No, the word I wanted was the one I wrote. I'm sure people will be able to understand that I wasn't saying that Australia's shootings are less tragic when they happen, but we do have LESS of them.

That's what I'm saying. If you're talking about a quantity that can be counted (like cars in a parking lot), you say "FEWER." If you're talking about an amount that can be measured (like a mound of sugar), you say "LESS." It's just correct grammar.
-

-Jeffrey
"With tha thoughts of a militant mind... Hard line, hard line after hard line!"

[JesseP 0]

I don't have to do anything. And I'm certainly not going to waste my time debating guns with someone who obviously has different opinions than me. I've lived in both countries, I believe without a doubt that Australia has less shootings. If that makes this country fascist than call me Mussolini.

[JesseP 0]

So, let me get this straight. You are saying that it is always incorrect to use the word 'less' for "a quanity that can be counted". Well I have fewer money than my room mate.

[AggieDave 6]

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I don't have to do anything. And I'm certainly not going to waste my time debating guns with someone who obviously has different opinions than me. I've lived in both countries, I believe without a doubt that Australia has less shootings. If that makes this country fascist than call me Mussolini.

Ok, well, that sort of leaves a debate hanging on personal opinion, doesn't it? So basically it makes your point invalid, since it won't be proven. *shrug* Ok.

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[peacefuljeffrey 0]

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So, let me get this straight. You are saying that it is always incorrect to use the word 'less' for "a quanity that can be counted". Well I have fewer money than my room mate.

Uh, no. Money is an abstract concept. You have fewer DOLLARS than your roommate. You have less money.

Similarly, you have less time to spend, but fewer hours.

Kids, this is why you should stay in school!
-

-Jeffrey
"With tha thoughts of a militant mind... Hard line, hard line after hard line!"

[CornishChris 5]

As he is not going to do any work...

Populations year 2000:

Au - c. 19,000,000
US - c. 275,000,000

Gun related deaths 2000:

Au - 59
US - 10,159

per 100,000

Au - 0.03
US - 3.69

Sources:
http://www.ssaa.org.au/homi2000.html
http://crime.miningco.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/homicide/weapons.htm
And others.

I think the AU number looks a bit low but I can't find any others, although that said in 2002 there were 963 murders and a firearm was used in 13% so that makes around 125 in 02. (source on request)
_______________________________________________

I think that shows that Australia have less tragic shootings than the US. Please feel free to disagree.

CJP

Gods don't kill people. People with Gods kill people

[AggieDave 6]

Thanks for posting that!

See, now I can view that opinion as a possible valid arguement, although there are other factors involved besides just laws in effect, it gives us something to start with, a common ground to begin from.

Thank you!

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[CornishChris 5]

That's cool. It makes sense to back up the argument. I am standing on neither side of this argument as I can do without trawling through another gun thread but it makes pretty interesting reading.

CJP

Gods don't kill people. People with Gods kill people

[AggieDave 6]

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as I can do without trawling through another gun thread but it makes pretty interesting reading.

You're on to my plan, now. Get it rolling, step back and watch...sort of like a train wreck, but more interesting.

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[Red_Skydiver 0]

And I wouldn't want to live where they make huge legislative decisions that confiscate private property from millions of law-abiding citizens just because of the actions of a single person, or even several people. They had that shooting in Tasmania and they decided it was enough to mean that ALL gun owners had to get screwed and pay for it. That's bullshit, and it's no way to run a country.
-

[Skyrad 0]

Home office figures released today say gun crime has reduced in the last year. Guess taking the guns away is working after all.

When an author is too meticulous about his style, you may presume that his mind is frivolous and his content flimsy.
Lucius Annaeus Seneca

[TomAiello 26]

If you compare gun violence figures in the US, you find that gun violence is greater in urban areas. This is interesting, because gun ownership (per capita) is actually lower in urban areas.

In other words, them folks out in the country have _more_ guns, but they have _less_ gun violence (sorry peacejeff, just using the words as I know them).

I theorize that this has to do with generally lower crime rates in rural areas, as well as more likelihood that children raised in rural areas were exposed to firearms in a more realistic setting (i.e. they saw their first gun at a hunter's safety class, rather than in a Terminator movie).

The relevance to this discussion is: Australia is a vastly more rural nation than the US (approximately the same land area but something like one tenth the population).

Perhaps there are other factors affecting this extremely complex issue (aside from just government regulations of ownership, I mean)?

Just a thought...

-- Tom Aiello

Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com
SnakeRiverBASE.com

[nightjumps 1]

Additional Info pre/post ban:

http://www.gunsandcrime.org/auresult.html

[Remster 30]

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The relevance to this discussion is: Australia is a vastly more rural nation than the US (approximately the same land area but something like one tenth the population).

More semantics... ... That doesnt make the country more or less rural. You'd need to look at the % of people living in cities.

Remster

[TheAnvil 0]

And burglary, assault, robbery - those #'s are....

Vinny the Anvil
Post Traumatic Didn't Make The Lakers Syndrome is REAL
JACKASS POWER!!!!!!

[TomAiello 26]

Quote

Quote

The relevance to this discussion is: Australia is a vastly more rural nation than the US (approximately the same land area but something like one tenth the population).

More semantics... ... That doesnt make the country more or less rural. You'd need to look at the % of people living in cities.

In general I agree. You would have to look at population spread.

Interestingly, the issue is even more complex than my representation above.

For example, per capita, suburban areas tend to have both fewer firearms and less gun violence than urban centers. A lot depends on how you group the urban areas. Within a single large metro area, for example, you can see middle and upper class suburbs with low gun ownership and low crime, and lower income urban areas with moderate gun ownership and high crime.

The point I was really trying to make was that the issue is far more complex than just "how many guns are in public hands." Things like education, income, population distribution, and culture all dramatically effect the numbers.

Personally, I suspect that the higher violence numbers in the US are the result of cultural differences, and would exist with or without the prevalence of firearms. On the other hand, there are probably positives generated by the same cultural factors. It'd be an interesting discussion for another thread...

-- Tom Aiello

Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com
SnakeRiverBASE.com

[winsor 236]

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So, let me get this straight. You are saying that it is always incorrect to use the word 'less' for "a quanity that can be counted". Well I have fewer money than my room mate.

Money is analog - you would not say "I have seventeen money," so you have less money.

Currency is digital - you have fewer dollars.

The grammatical principle applies.


Blue skies,

Winsor