Date: Sun, 7 Jul 1996 14:09:56 -0400 From: [r k ba] at [televar.com] (Jeffrey &/or Holly Jennings) To: Multiple recipients of list <[n--b--n] at [mainstream.net]> Subject: Aussie marches The New Gun Week 7-1-96 Thousands of Irate Gunowners March in Melbourne, Australia Some 67,000 pro-gunAustralians marched in Melbourne, the nation's second largest city, on June I to protest the draconian new gun laws proposed for that nation (See Gun Week, June 20, 1996). Reuters noted the Melbourne rally was one of the biggest rallies the country has seen since the Vietnam War. "It was a very successful rally. We have had only a few politicians support us so far, but after the rally we will have more:' said Morris Tully of the Sporting Shooters Association of Australia (SSAA). Tully said shooters, who argue the new laws infringe on civil liberties, also planned political campaigns in state elections against politicians who supported the laws. At another gunowners' rally in Adelaide which drew 7,500 marchers on June 2, speakers warned of a ballot box backlash against the tough new laws. Gunowners carried signs with slogans such as "Punish the criminals! Not the innocent!" and "I voted Liberal, not now!," referring to the March 2 national election of Howard's conservative Liberal National coalition government. Bullets from Ballot Box "On election day, with the only ammunition that we need, we will deliver a message in an undeniable, unassailable mannernbullets from the ballot box," said Michael Hudson, president of the Combined Shooters and Firearms Council of South Australia. "These so-called servants of the people propose that millions of decent, law-abiding Australians, like you, should be deprived of your lawful property, your chosen lifestyle, your recreation and sporting activity and your freedom to choose," Hudson added. "We must show our elected representatives that they will pay the ultimate price for their folly," he said. "We will deliver them a massive blow in the manner that they will only understand: your vote on election day." "No, Mr. (Premier Dean) Brown; no, Mr. (Police Minister Stephen) Baker; no, Mr. Howard. It is you who have the unconditional privilege to serve the people, not the other way around," he said. The president of SSAA, Ted Drane, told the crowd shooters had to get politically active to win their fight against Canberra (i.e. the federal government). Only First Step He warned the proposed controls were just the first step in its plan to rid the country of guns altogether. "It's about destroying the right to own firearms in this country. That's why the SSAA will go broke fighting this fight. "The next stage will be lever action. The next will be pump action. The next will be single shot .22s until we've got nothing. If you don't believe that, then you shouldn't be here today." Labor's John Quirke told the rally that he was concerned the proposed buy-back of newly-banned firearms would not include unregistered firearms. The media also came under fire from speakers as they accused print, television and radio outlets of trampling on their own code of ethics and the memory of the victims of the Port Arthur shootings in April. "The media sullied that memory with an outof-control, frenzied blitzkrieg," said rally organizer John Downing. "They've told the citizens of Australia a pack of lies." Downing also accused Adelaide radio stations of deliberately announcing the wrong time and venue for the protest. More radical gun groups have vowed to break the new laws, warning blood will flow. Gun organizations plan to challenge the ban in court. Howard Committed Nevertheless, following the massive rally Australian Prime Minister John Howard said that he is committed to stricter gun laws. Howard said that tougher gun control laws would not guarantee an end to further shootings. "That would be ridiculous (to assert). What the laws would do is minimize the danger to the widespread possession of weapons," Howard said. Howard said Australian politicians had the opportunity to stop the country from adopting the gun culture of the United States. "Its (United States') politicians are intimidated out of doing anything. I am determined that will not happen in this country and that is why I've taken the stand I have," Howard said. The anti-gunners held their own rallies attended by 20,000 in Melbourne and 5,000 in Sydney. Despite much smaller turnouts, the antis insist that 95% of Australians support them. And they were quick to seize on another shooting incident Down Under. Right before the huge Melbourne pro-gun rally, a gunman armed with a pump-action shotgun wounded five people near the tropical city of Darwin, capital of the Northern Territory. A 23-year-old man was being questioned in a Darwin hospital after being shot in the arm and hit with a stun grenade. Howard wants to ban automatic, semi-automatic and pump-action firearms. "It is another kick in the bum for them," said John Crook, president of Gun Control Australia. "It makes another dent in the gun lobby's argument that licensed shooters are not at fault." Crook said that of Australia's 26 shooting massacres in the past nine yearsnwhich have left 130 people dead- 22 were committed by licensed gunowners. "This is an abysmal record for gunowners. It is not the criminals and mentally ill that are at fault," he told Reuters. Well-Coached Based on his comments, it appears Crook has been well-coached by American anti-gunners. Crook, who led the anti-gun rally in Melbourne, said large, gunowner protests reflected the fact that the gun lobby had substantial financial resources and could bus people to rallies. Australia's gun lobby is nowhere near as big or powerful as the National Rifle Association in the United States. The SSAA, the nation's largest pro-gun group, boasts about 50,000 members. Other more aggressive groups, like the Firearm Owners Association, have a few thousand members. And it would appear Australia's media also have been taking lessons from their American counterparts. An investigation by the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper said the gun lobby is financially backed by the country's $39 million firearms industry. Currently, Australian gun laws come under state jurisdiction and vary widely. There is no official record of the number of firearms, but gun groups estimate them at around 3.5 million. Tough New Laws On May 10, a meeting of Australian police ministers agreed to tough new gun laws, banning automatic and semi-automatic firearmsn as well as pump shotguns. The meeting was called by Howard after the April 28 massacre of 35 people in Tasmania. Only low-powered, semi-auto rifles will be allowed in rural areas if farmers can prove to police they are necessary to control crop pests, such as kangaroos. Australians will be given a 1 2-month amnesty starting on July I to hand in their firearms. But Reuters noted that not all of Australia's six states and two territories freely agreed to the tough new laws, especially those with big rural constituencies like Queensland and the Northern Territory. And while state governments have agreed to pass new laws, the reality may be very different. Many rural-based politicians are under pressure not to vote for the new gun laws, while in New South Wales (NSW) the Shooters Party holds the balance of power in the upper House. The gun lobby claims to have brought down the NSW government over the issue in a state election in 1988. Still, as thousands of pro-gunners were marching, Howard urged state governments to follow through with their commitment for tougher gun laws. "Some states have already acted . . . I hope the other states (act) as soon as humanly possible," he said. ========================================================================= _=_____________________- <(------==(____)---------| Jeffrey L.Jennings M.D. |//////_______________| <[r k ba] at [televar.com]> )/ /) / )/ (/ /\.__\_)> (/ /) (/ /) ( P7M13 ) (/ ___/) -----BEGIN PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK----- Version: 2.6.2 mQCPAzHZ+6EAAAEEANkwJLNZysY9V3V2GqoitAiA6vSRonryiNMDMgcGKPZaur2f WH6O/4CmGkGsUOmpw85BAYRlZZ/LGLNkPElLYK6kr0TzTd/w9bLIN24pIS+etEm0 0LfOzkwB8xQR2Fqqt5RiF+1auwpMtWud5tH98DPZlWtYixp71m8UGhdXMbrpABEB AAG0JkplZmZyZXkgTC4gSmVubmluZ3MgPHJrYmFAdGVsZXZhci5jb20+ =n/eo -----END PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK-----