Thread: After The Gatton Shooting

Originally Posted by DiscoMick

Take America as an example - most gun crime is committed by ordinary citizens, not criminals.

Really! you got the stats to back that up?

I'd have thought, if you have committed a gun crime, that would make you a criminal. Not in America, apparently. Committing a gun crime makes you a citizen!

Originally Posted by Mick_Marsh

Really! you got the stats to back that up?

I'd have thought, if you have committed a gun crime, that would make you a criminal. Not in America, apparently. Committing a gun crime makes you a citizen!

An ordinary citizen in the US can easily and legally purchase a cache of deadly weapons, then subsequently become a criminal. Lots of nutso shooters do this, don't you read the news?

This process is just a little harder in Oz so the petty fish shop crim has to resort to waving a knife because he's not high enough up the career ladder to be allowed to have an illegal weapon by his superiors. Making illegal guns expensive by limiting supply does reduce gun crime.

I don't believe in Capital Punishment, but death by cop seems to be a good result here.

I Do believe that capitol Punishment IS applicable in certain cases, Especially Murder This was a Great result.
Its just an absolute shame that we lost one of our policemen in the process and it is "Toerags" like these that think when they kill someone they will Not have to pay the ultimate price and will be out of jail in a few years.
Once again Great result

The assailant is now dead also. Good riddance, but he got out the east way.

Gatton police shooting: Cop killer shot dead after shootout - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Don.

Originally Posted by DiscoMick

Yes, I know they're already illegal - I said that. Making them illegal also makes it illegal for crims. to possess them, so the cops can act based on their possession, even if they can't prove they have actually been used, which strengthens the hand of the police. Its a good thing too.
As for law abiding citizens, why would a law-abiding citizen need a machine gun?
Take America as an example - most gun crime is committed by ordinary citizens, not criminals. No way should ordinary citizens be able to get machine guns. In fact, very few people have a legitimate reason to own any gun, I reckon. And I grew up on a farm, so I know about and have used various guns in farm work, but no way should I or most people be able to get a gun for normal life, I think. The fewer guns there are, the safer is society.

Lol!!
Of course they're illegal, & illegal in the hands of the crims, you know that, I know that, and the crims know that,...and the crims don't give a stuff.
And they know how to hide 'em, No "laws" are going to make any difference,...sure IF the Cops can find 'em they can grab 'em (weapons),....and when & if they do,..the crims just get more,..they do not, to use your term, care about "illegality".
Disco, mate I have said before you are a reasonable man, but if you think that the cops are ever going to be successful in preventing firearms from falling into the "wrong hands", I will disagree with you. It will never EVER happen.
All IMHO of course, Pickles.

Originally Posted by DiscoMick

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.

Problem is Mick, the laws and restrictions already in place which are some of the strictest in the world, clearly don't stop the criminals from getting the guns if they want them. The perp in this case, under the current laws, would likely not have been able to own a firearm - let alone legally posses what I assume will turn out to be a semi auto firearm ( i'm assuming here, based on news reports of 'automatic fire' that he had a semi auto - pure assumption on my part).

I can't see what 'tighter control' can do to stop clearly violent crims in Australia who don't obey the laws anyway.

Thankfully we live in a country that has historically very few police homicides - and even less by firearm - and that has been a fact even long before the tightergun laws that came into effect in 1996.

Anyway, I don't want to hijack what is a very sad story for the officer involved and his friends and family. It's a tragic situation, just one I don't believe is going to be preventable by passing 'laws' - but it is thankfully a very rare event in Aus.

andy, i think mick is looking for greater enforcement of the current laws.

I think maybe you're missing the point. Everyone knows some crims will get illegal weapons, the laws will never stop that, as you correctly say.
The point is making those guns illegal means the cops can act against people who seek and gain them, without having to wait for those people to commit a crime with them. Making possession illegal means those who possess them can be charged. That is how the cops often break up criminal gangs. Jail them for illegal possession BEFORE they commit a crime with them.