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Prohibited weapons in Australia

The white non-immigrant population of Australia is descended from criminals. To create a civilized society, they understood the need to restrict the ownership and use of weapons by the average citizen so the real criminals would be easier to identify and control.

Next, the Aussie military and police are as tough as they need to be against criminals and foreign threats. Ordinary citizens don't have to fear over-reaction by their cops, and ordinary citizens are unequivocal at identifying and reporting dangerous criminals (they're the ones not in uniform with the weapons).

Lastly, and most importantly, their constitution doesn't have the ambiguous language about a militia having the right to bear arms that ours does. So, there is not the same culture about gun ownership that we have here.

During my time in Australia and with the people there, I didn't notice that anyone felt insecure because they weren't allowed to have guns. It's just not even an issue there at all. We are unique in the civilized world in that respect.

They have the same restrictions as we do in Canada. in 35 years of service as a leo in York and Toronto I have never had to fire a weapon and only once have I drawn one. I feel safe walking around anywhere in our largest cities. I love going to the US and travel the world including Australia, New Zealand etc.. It always make me think twice as I see a person pull a gun out in a gas station, walk into the store and purchase his gas., But you live where you live you make up your rules, I just visit and don't judge as some seem to do. I am happy where I am and I hope you are too.
 
[h=4]Better leave your M/C gloves at home too!


Knuckle-dusters:[/h]or any other similar article that is made of any hard substance and that can be fitted over the knuckles of the hand of the user to protect
 
I guess the best self defense in Australia, is to curl up in the fetal position and whimper.

What an odd comment, kep-up. From the news reports I have seen, that is exactly the same self defence used by teachers and school children in America, too, when someone walks into a school armed with a semi automatic weapon.

Fortunately, most Americans I know accept that every country has their own way of handling this problem as they each have their own unique circumstances, and while they may not agree with the approach, they don't ridicule them for it.:shocked:

Mind you, you won't find too many Aussies will curl up in the fetal position and whimper when faced with that type of situation, regardless of the odds ;)

Pete
 
The white non-immigrant population of Australia is descended from criminals. To create a civilized society, they understood the need to restrict the ownership and use of weapons by the average citizen so the real criminals would be easier to identify and control.

Next, the Aussie military and police are as tough as they need to be against criminals and foreign threats. Ordinary citizens don't have to fear over-reaction by their cops, and ordinary citizens are unequivocal at identifying and reporting dangerous criminals (they're the ones not in uniform with the weapons).

Lastly, and most importantly, their constitution doesn't have the ambiguous language about a militia having the right to bear arms that ours does. So, there is not the same culture about gun ownership that we have here.

During my time in Australia and with the people there, I didn't notice that anyone felt insecure because they weren't allowed to have guns. It's just not even an issue there at all. We are unique in the civilized world in that respect.

Re
descended from criminals -
this is just plain wrong !

Yes convicts were sent to Australia - after the American war of independence when they could no longer be sent to the Americas.

i am sixth generation Australian on all sides, and all were free settlers, starting on the first ships to south Australia in 1836 - a state, by the way, founded by free settlers, not a convict ever sent there.

Just a little history lesson, no offence taken.
 
Yes there were some convicts - but loads of free settlers too, not to mention all the officials sent to guard the convicts, many of whom stayed. The actual first fleet was predominantly convicts and guards, but that didn't last long. It used to be a source of shame for descendants of convicts but now, if one is found in the family tree, a source of pride. I have done my family tree, and my husbands too, and found one ... Only one... on my husbands side.

I often wonder why American family tree seekers never find a convict sent from England pre independence - maybe they all went back ??

It makes for a good movie, but the actual history is like gone with the wind I guess. :ohyea:
 
It seems the "excellent" American education system failed again. I too was taught that OZ was initially populated by criminals from England and its empire. We've even had a few TV movies to that same effect.

I wouldn't be too hard on the US education system, Rincon. It's not really "wrong". It's just that there was a mixture of crims and free settlers on that first fleet to Australia, with the idea being that the crims could do all the hard labour of building up the settlement. My descendants came out on the first fleet in 1788. Unlike Lois, my descendants were crims (says a lot, eh ;):ohyea: ). It still presented an opportunity though. My (many) Greats Grandfather, who was sent to Australia for stealing bread and silver candlesticks ended up being one of the wealthiest landowners in NSW, with his own fleet of ships and an import/export business.

Pete
 
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Our education system seems to be going downhill too ... at least judging by the astounding levels of ignorance on tv quiz shows - but maybe this is more about contestants chosen than the general level of education - who knows?
 
Yes there were some convicts - but loads of free settlers too, not to mention all the officials sent to guard the convicts, many of whom stayed. The actual first fleet was predominantly convicts and guards, but that didn't last long. It used to be a source of shame for descendants of convicts but now, if one is found in the family tree, a source of pride. I have done my family tree, and my husbands too, and found one ... Only one... on my husbands side.

I often wonder why American family tree seekers never find a convict sent from England pre independence - maybe they all went back ??

It makes for a good movie, but the actual history is like gone with the wind I guess. :ohyea:

Not all the early immigrants to America were from England. My ancestors were from Germany. We know where they sailed from, but not why they came. ManyAmericans who trace their ancestors find they came here later than the colonial times in successive waves from various parts of Europe. And, of course, from Africa and Asia.

I may be wrong, but I don't think we have as much history of criminals transported to America, but there were many who came her voluntarily seeking religious freedom or economic betterment.
 
flame trhower

That's crazy.
what good it it owning a flamer thrower if you can't take it with you on vacation.
 
Hi Patti,

Re: My ancestors were from Germany.

Germany has supplied more immigrants to the USA than any other country.

Jerry Baumchen
 
.......
I may be wrong, but I don't think we have as much history of criminals transported to America, but there were many who came her voluntarily seeking religious freedom or economic betterment.

It's much the same here, people generally only highlight or pass on the bits of history they want to remember or highlight, often ignoring or even suppressing all the rest.... :shocked:

Apart from 'the First Fleet' & the early days of the settlement in Sydney Cove, the majority of our 'European Settlement' settlers came from all over Europe (& America too) & in fact, within something like just 50 years of the First Fleets arrival only a small percentage of the Australian Continent's entire European population had arrived as convicts or the families of convicts. Sure, there were some purely Convict or Penal Settlements established here, but those places still needed all the businesses, agricultural activities, & infrastructure to support them that any settlement needs, so most of those early Penal Settlements rapidly grew into much larger places with the subsequent massive influx of enterprising free settlers & other people escaping intolerance etc &/or seeking a better life that followed.

I think you'd be very surprised at the comparative numbers of convicts transported to each of our Countries - Interesting to note that there were only about 164K total Convicts transported to Aust over less than 100 years total, & for 50 of those years the Empire was actively scaling back the numbers sent; but before the War of Independence, they'd been actively transporting Convicts to America from 1610 until 1776, scaling numbers UP pretty much all that time!! And you might also be surprised at how many of your Country's early immigrants actually didn't stay there for a whole heap of reasons but instead kept on searching for their 'Promised Land' & the freedoms they craved, at least until they ended up here!! ;)
 
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I lived two years is Brisbane and much to my fellow ex-pats horror, I preferred the Aussie's company to theirs.

The Aussies have a thing called "Polite Society" manners. That is how they are responding to your assumptions of their culture.

I have no qualms about getting things set right...

I guess the best self defense in Australia, is to curl up in the fetal position and whimper.

Honey, if you were in Oz, you would be the one curled up in the fetal position and whimpering. And that's after a Station Mistress (hope I got that title right?) got through with you. There're tough people across the pond.

See the above about 'Polite Society' manners..


Many of the original white population of Australia were convicts sent there by Britain. To create a civilized society, they probably understood the need to restrict the ownership and use of weapons by the average citizen so the real criminals would be easier to identify and control.

Oh Geeze, you must have thought hard on that one...

I was in Australia when the weapons ban happened. Can't remember the places or names, but there was a mass murder at a Tasmanian prison (correct me if I'm wrong) that started the whole thing.

Re
descended from criminals -
this is just plain wrong !

Yes convicts were sent to Australia - after the American war of independence when they could no longer be sent to the Americas.

Just a little history lesson, no offence taken.

The first of my family to land in Canada was a 'lady of the night' caught and sent over to serve the soldiers. England was sending crims everywhere. Even the Americas.
 
I was in Australia when the weapons ban happened. Can't remember the places or names, but there was a mass murder at a Tasmanian prison (correct me if I'm wrong) that started the whole thing.

Pretty close, Joy......It was actually a weapons buy back and a tightening of the gun licensing laws after a nutcase called Martin Bryant got his hands on a semi automatic weapon and took it to an obsolete prison from the colonial days that was then a tourist attraction and opened fire on whoever he could. Even then, we didn't have much of a gun culture as we were predominantly of British stock, and the Brits didn't have one either. The jury is still out on whether the buy back achieved anything other than getting law abiding citizens handing in pistols and rifles that their fathers owned and were no longer needed. The crims, of course, kept all of theirs......gun crime was not a big issue in Oz prior to Bryant, and is not a big issue today, primarily due to good luck, not necessarily due to good management.

Pete
 
.....And that's after a (*1)Station Mistress (hope I got that title right?) got through with you. There're tough people across the pond.

......

I was in Australia when the weapons ban happened. Can't remember the places or names, but there was a mass murder at a (*2)Tasmanian prison (correct me if I'm wrong) that started the whole thing.
.....

*1 Station 'Owner' or 'Manager' is probably better, we don't really care about their sex just so long as they can do the job, and for those not aware, most of our Stations here still spend somewhat more time being run by just the 'women of the place' despite the extreme isolation & largely without any big burly guys around to do the grunt work, cos they are days away, working at the other end of the property!! Even today, it's a far harder life than most'd expect. ;)

*2 as Pete's already mentioned, you are absolutely correct that our 'weapons ban' & the subsequent 'weapons buy-back' was all triggered by 'the Port Arthur Massacre', called that cos a sicko nut job went postal & with the aid of a bunch of largely automatic weapons committed the worst mass murder offence Aust has ever seen! This happened at the World Heritige Site/Tourist Attraction/Memorial that had been the Port Arthur Penal Settlement, which was basically where the Colonial Authorities sent the hardened criminals who re-offended after being transported, committing further serious crimes (usually capital). :shocked:
 
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My (many) Greats Grandfather, who was sent to Australia for stealing bread and silver candlesticks ended up being one of the wealthiest landowners in NSW, with his own fleet of ships and an import/export business.
Pete

It seems it still works that way here in the States. Except they also seem to wind up as politicians.
 
Hi Patti,

Re: My ancestors were from Germany.

Germany has supplied more immigrants to the USA than any other country.

Jerry Baumchen

That would depend upon which decade and century you are discussing. At one time you are probably correct but then came the Irish famine and later the influx of Chinese (to work the railroad expansion). If you are talking about modern immigration (since 1986) the four leading countries are: Mexico, China, India and the Philippines. Going back into the 70's you would probably find Vietnam listed as well.
 
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