ranburr said:
Mulder, can you guys own pistols? Just curious.
ranburr
We certainly can but are limited in a number of ways. Do a search on articles I have written here and you will find a run down of our draconian laws. IF you cant be bothered then I found it for you and it is partly reprinted below.
Cheers
Mulder
The following is a very very short run down on pistols in Australia.
No pistols above 38 cal except when issued a commisioners permit to own calibre above this. You can only own above 38cal to shoot certain matches ( metalic silhouette, western action ) but if your club doesnt run those matches then you have vertually no chance of getting a permit.
Semi Autos. Barrels not shorter than 5 inches
Revolvers. Barrels not shorter than 4 inches
Magazines. Capacity maximum of 10 rounds
Specialised Target pistols may have barrels less than the above minimum lengths but must be checked by the police and passed. Certain rapid fire guns are an example.
If you have had a pistol licence for more than 12 months ( I think it is) and wish to buy a pistol then you need to apply for a "Permit To Acquire" (PTA). A PTA is $30. Acooling of period of 28 days applies then an extra wait for it to be sent to you. Minimum time I have heard of is just over one month, the most I have heard is 6 months. ( they are really understaffed and overworked at the firearms registry and that statement comes from the government its self!)
Before you can apply for a PTA you have to satisfy the Secretary of your pistol club that you need a new pistol ( no biggy that one ) and you have to satisfy the Police that your storage of your pistols meet the minimum requirements. Once the Police are satisfied they issue a certificate of compliance and you give a copy of that to the secretary of your club. (minimum safe, 1/4 inch walls and door, minimum 20,000 combination lock system, bolted to the wall and floor using approved anchor bolts, no more than 1 mm gap around the door and consealed hinges, etc)
If you have had your licence for less than 12 months you are not allowed to buy anything bigger than a 22 cal pistol. anything above this and you will have to wait your time.
Once you have your pistols you have to, for each catagory of firerm you own ( air, rimfire, centrefire, black powder ) you have to compete in at least 6 competitions and have at least 4 attendances for each. Its hard to explain but if I had 3 different catagory pistols I could shoot say 6 matchs for rimfire and none for the other two but I would still ahve to have 4 attendances for the other two catagories.
I wont go into transportation or ammo storage or powder storage etc as this short intro the Aussie law is getting longer by the minute but I think you all get my drift by now.
These stats from Captain Ray are interesting too.
During 1997, firearms were used in 23 per cent (75 of 322) of murders, 28 per cent (90 of 318) of attempted murders, 2.6 per cent (1 of 3 of manslaughters, 24 per cent (2,183 of 9,015) of armed robberies, 3.6 per cent (20 of 557) of kidnappings or abductions, 0.7 per cent (806 of 123,940) of assaults, and 0.2 per cent (33 of 14,138) of sexual assaults.
There were 123,940 victims of assault in Australia during 1997. Victims of assault were males in 57 per cent of cases and 39 per cent were female. Victimization rates for assault were highest in the Northern Territory (1,369 per 100,000 people) and South Australia (928 per 100,000 people). The national victimization rate was 669 per 100,000 people. Victoria recorded the lowest rate of 361 victims per 100,000 people in 1997.
The total number of sexual assaults recorded in Australia during 1997 was 14,138 at a rate of 76 for every 100,000 people. Victims of sexual assault were aged less than 20 years in 59 per cent of cases and 79 per cent of victims were female. The highest victimization rates were recorded in the Northern Territory (133 per 100,000 people) and Queensland (97 per 100,000 people). The lowest victimization rates for sexual assault were recorded in the Australian Capital Territory with 32 victims per 100,000 people and Tasmania with 41 victims per 100,000 people.
Robberies were committed on 21,261 victims during 1997 at a rate of 115 per 100,000 people, this represents a 30 per cent increase in robberies over 1996. Armed robberies constituted 9,015 of these robberies (49 per 100,000 people), 12,246 were unarmed robberies at the rate of 66 for every 100,000 people. The most common location for armed robbery was retail premises where 49 per cent of offenses occurred while 46 per cent of unarmed robberies occurred from streets and footpaths. The highest rates for robberies were recorded in New South Wales with 200 per 100,000 people and Western Australia (118). The lowest rates were for Tasmania with 31 and the Northern Territory with 38 for every 100,000 people.
Motor vehicles were stolen in Australia at a rate of 704 per 100,000 people in 1997. The most common location for motor vehicle theft was the street, from where 41 per cent of vehicles were stolen. The highest rates of motor vehicle theft were recorded in NSW with 872 per 100,000 people and Western Australia (845). The lowest rates were recorded in Queensland (500) and the Australian Capital Territory (504).
For those murders recorded by police in Australia between Jan and Dec 1997, investigations were finalized after 90 days in 78 per cent of cases (an offender was proceeded against in 69 per cent of cases after 90 days).
