Thread: After The Gatton Shooting

I would like to know, how in the hell did this criminal get his hands on a machine gun????????????? My sincere sympathies to the dead police officers family, he was only doing his job.

Originally Posted by DiscoMick

Latest stories say the guy used a machine gun to spray bullets at police in several vehicles. Police would not expect a man to be carrying a machine gun. I assume the gun was obtained illegally. This seems a good argument in favour of tight gun control to try to reduce the number of such weapons in the community. We don't want people driving around armed like that.
Police corner gunman after officer shot dead Police officer Brett Forte shot dead west of Brisbane, gunman contained - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) - via @abcnews

Machine guns are already illegal in Australia. Have been for many years, and a safe bet would be that the weapon was (if indeed it is a "machine gun", and not a modified semi-automatic rifle) illegally imported, or fabricated from plans available on the internet, by anyone with basic metal fabrication skills and tools. Placing even more onerous rules on people who are already doing the right thing, is not the answer. More funding for more rigorous application of the existing laws, and a judiciary that actually punishes those whom choose to do harm to others, would be a far better deterrent IMO

It certainly sounded like a machine gun, going by the clip they played on the news last night. Anyrate I am sure the police did not realise he was so heavily armed. Note to Digger, excellent post mate, certainly makes more sense than the emotional posts made by some forum members on this subject.

lets keep it civil

prying eyes are watching, so to speak....

Originally Posted by donh54

Machine guns are already illegal in Australia. Have been for many years, and a safe bet would be that the weapon was (if indeed it is a "machine gun", and not a modified semi-automatic rifle) illegally imported, or fabricated from plans available on the internet, by anyone with basic metal fabrication skills and tools. Placing even more onerous rules on people who are already doing the right thing, is not the answer. More funding for more rigorous application of the existing laws, and a judiciary that actually punishes those whom choose to do harm to others, would be a far better deterrent IMO

I assume he got the machine gun, if that is what it is, illegally in the underground gun market. That just proves how much we need gun control laws to try to prevent these guns getting in the hands of people who might use them. After all, in most cases the laws have worked, since most people do not have machine guns, which is a very good thing - we don't want to copy America. We don't abolish laws just because a small number of selfish people choose to break them.
The issue with the underground gun market isn't laws, the laws are good, it's why people should even want something like a machine gun, and why some people would want to trade in illegal weapons. Let's just support the police in trying to do a very difficult job for the community.

Originally Posted by Ausfree

I would like to know, how in the hell did this criminal get his hands on a machine gun????????????? My sincere sympathies to the dead police officers family, he was only doing his job.

There was a doc on TV the other night, thereas a post office owner buying glocks in pieces from a gun shop in Germany, importing them, having the description changed on the shipping doc, and having them delivered to his post office in the mail. he was a crim, and knew the customs and police shortfalls so worked around the system/

I once spent the best part of a day stuck in my house, forbidden to leave, with a Police sniper positioned on the dunny roof. His weapon was aimed at the back window of a neighbours house. There were two more out the front and one out the back gate. A fifth was moving between them all, constantly giving out food drink and information.
The bloke under siege was known to the Police. The information they had about him was coming in dribs and drabs. They didn't know it all the instant they showed up.
I kept my sniper mate company for several hours and he didn't move an inch the whole time, while I couldn't sit still for Five minutes. You have to respect that kind of discipline and stoicism.
The siege ended and no one was harmed. The offender ended up being charged with minor fire arms offences.
Some years later though his son shot a bloke dead in the street.
There are definite gene pool arguments there but once you start down that road you are going on tour with Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin. How harmful were they?

Originally Posted by DiscoMick

Latest stories say the guy used a machine gun to spray bullets at police in several vehicles. Police would not expect a man to be carrying a machine gun. I assume the gun was obtained illegally. This seems a good argument in favour of tight gun control to try to reduce the number of such weapons in the community. We don't want people driving around armed like that.
Police corner gunman after officer shot dead Police officer Brett Forte shot dead west of Brisbane, gunman contained - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) - via @abcnews

Nope. Tighter gun laws make no difference to those on the other side of the law who have always had no trouble in sourcing whatever weapon it is that they want.
Law abiding citizens abide by the gun laws, & of course any laws, criminals do not.
Pickles.