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Having disarmed its citizens of lawfully
owned firearms, the government of Australia has now passed the Defence
Legislation Amendment Bill 2000 (Aid to Civilian Authorities) which gives
the Australian army the authority to use "reasonable and necessary force"
to suppress civilian unrest. The definition of "reasonable and necessary
force," it goes without saying, is left up to the government.
The bill grants the army authority to enter
buildings without a warrant, cordon off areas, erect barricades and stop
vehicles to search them without a warrant. The bill specifically
authorized the army to use lethal force against civilians when there are
"reasonable ground," a condition that the government decides.
It has now been three years since Australia
outlawed semi auto shotguns and rifles, Since that time over 650,000
firearms banned by the government has been rounded up and destroyed. But
is Australia any safer? Homicides have increase 3.2%, assaults have jumped
8.6%, and burglaries have skyrocketed to 44%.
Some
interesting facts:
Hinting licenses sold nationwide in the U.S. in
1999, show an increase of 1.7%over 1998, the first time hunting license
sales have risen since 1996.
Minutes of
prime time NBC coverage of shooting at the 2000 Olympics is 0
minutes
Guns sold in
the U.s. Since the NICS computerized background check was instituted in
1994 was 22, 600,000
Percent of
rejection of gun buyers by the NICS system since its inception-was
2.4%-=that translates in 536,000 "thumbs
down". | 