Summary of first-year results (1999):

• Australia-wide, homicides are up 3.2 percent
• Australia-wide, assaults are up 8.6 percent
• Australia-wide, armed robberies are up 44 percent (yes, 44 percent)

In the state of Victoria alone, homicides with firearms are now up 300 percent. (Note that while the law-abiding citizens turned them in, the criminals did not and criminals still possess their guns!)

Even a moron can see that an anti-gun position is a pro-crime position. Are you voting for politicians who want to help criminals hurt you?

Australia Sees Major Crime Increase After Government Firearm Ban

While figures over the previous 25 years showed a steady decrease in armed robbery with firearms, this has changed drastically upward in the past 12 months, since the criminals now are guaranteed that their prey is unarmed. There has also been a dramatic increase in break-ins and assaults of the elderly.

Australian politicians are at a loss to explain how public safety has decreased, after such monumental effort and expense was expended in "successfully ridding Australian society of guns." You won't see these data on the American evening news, or hear your governor or members of the state Assembly disseminating this information.

The Australian experience proves it. Guns in the hands of honest citizens save lives and property and, yes, gun-control laws affect only the law-abiding citizens. Take note Americans, before it's too late!

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 had 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 risen to 112,000, a 200% increase, in response to the ban and as an attempt to organize against further controls, which are expected.

Australian politicians are on the spot and at a loss to explain how 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."

"...the best organization you've got there, the biggest organization you've got there is the NRA. We don't have an organization that size. We didn't have an organization that size, and as a consequence, we suffered. And we hope that you don't suffer..."