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Statement by Australian Prime Minister concerning the Martin Place Siege
Prime Ministerial Website ^ | 16th December 2014 | The Honourable Tony Abbott MP, Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia

Posted on 12/15/2014 4:49:04 PM PST by naturalman1975

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To: naturalman1975
"loss of two hostages"

Has it been confirmed that the two hostages were killed by the ISIL lunatic ?

Or was it friendly fire?
21 posted on 12/15/2014 7:30:30 PM PST by indthkr
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To: indthkr

I doubt anything about that will be confirmed until after its been through the Coroners Court. That’s normal practice here.


22 posted on 12/15/2014 7:34:01 PM PST by naturalman1975 ("America was under attack. Australia was immediately there to help." - John Winston Howard)
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To: Paulus Invictus
Do they now have concealed carry in Australia?

That's not a concept that really exists here. If you have a handgun licence, you can carry a handgun, concealed or openly. We don't make the distinctions Americans do.

But handgun licences are rare. Partly because they are not easy to get but mostly because very few people bother. I do have one but I don't know many other people who do. Then again, I might now know in a lot of cases. But they are rare. 1 in 100 people would be an overestimate.

23 posted on 12/15/2014 7:36:27 PM PST by naturalman1975 ("America was under attack. Australia was immediately there to help." - John Winston Howard)
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To: naturalman1975

It would be interesting to know what it took in terms of time and effort to attain them. Did your previous service in (I believe) the Navy make it easier? What is the process involved?

I’m in New Mexico USA and purchased 5 handguns at two stores in a total of less than a half an hour. (The stars aligned back in the day when I was collecting Smith and Wessons). I’m just, as we say “Joe Schmoe”.

Thank you for the info.


24 posted on 12/15/2014 7:43:03 PM PST by Tijeras_Slim
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To: Tijeras_Slim
My previous service probably made it easier in an informal sense. To own more than a basic firearms licence, you need to be interviewed by your local firearms officer (in my case, this was a local police senior sergeant) who has to satisfy themselves that you are a 'fit and proper person' to have such a licence. I think my interview was more straightforward than somebody without more than twenty years military service would have been. You also need to provide a reason you need the licence - there's a range of possible ways of doing this. For most people, the easiest way is to join a pistol club for a handgun licence.

Your first gun licence has a 28 day waiting period, but if you already have a basic licence, you don't have to wait that long for a higher level one.

The real bugbear in the process is you need to get an individual permit for any gun you want to buy. And that can take at least ten days by itself. I actually don't have any real problem with the licencing process myself - I do think the permit to acquire idea is a big problem though.

25 posted on 12/15/2014 7:56:11 PM PST by naturalman1975 ("America was under attack. Australia was immediately there to help." - John Winston Howard)
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To: naturalman1975

You may have guns, but are you and your law abiding countrymen able to carry them on your person for use in self defense?


26 posted on 12/15/2014 8:17:35 PM PST by BCR #226 (02/07 SOT www.extremefirepower.com...The BS stops when the hammer drops.)
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To: BCR #226

I’m carrying one right now.


27 posted on 12/15/2014 8:22:23 PM PST by naturalman1975 ("America was under attack. Australia was immediately there to help." - John Winston Howard)
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To: Da Coyote

Well played, but you misspelled liberal!

The correct spelling is LIEberal, because LIEberals LIE!


28 posted on 12/15/2014 8:28:50 PM PST by Taxman
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To: naturalman1975

As with many other situation such as this, one good guy with a gun could have prevented the 2 innocent person’s deaths.

Oh, how could I forget? Australia is a “gun free zone!”

In 2008, gun owners in Australia were forced by law to surrender 640,381 personal firearms which were destroyed by their own Government.

If one of them had been available yesterday to a good guy, the Moslem thug would be taking a dirt nap and everybody else would be alive.


29 posted on 12/15/2014 8:35:52 PM PST by Taxman
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To: Taxman
Oh, how could I forget? Australia is a “gun free zone!”

No it isn't. I'm a gun owner myself - one of somewhere around a million Australian gun owners owning millions of guns between us.

In 2008, gun owners in Australia were forced by law to surrender 640,381 personal firearms which were destroyed by their own Government.

No, they weren't. Your information is seriously flawed.

(It wasn't 2008 - it was 1998 - and most of the guns were voluntarily sold to the government in a buyback - people were not forced to surrender them in most cases. They chose to for a fair cash price).

There's a lot of misinformation on the web about the situation in Australia.

30 posted on 12/15/2014 8:39:39 PM PST by naturalman1975 ("America was under attack. Australia was immediately there to help." - John Winston Howard)
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To: Da Coyote

Title: When Muslims attack.


31 posted on 12/15/2014 8:40:32 PM PST by cotton (one way, one truth, the life.)
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To: Taxman
My local gun shop's webpage.
32 posted on 12/15/2014 8:42:26 PM PST by naturalman1975 ("America was under attack. Australia was immediately there to help." - John Winston Howard)
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To: naturalman1975

I stand corrected, then.

HST, are you allowed to carry?


33 posted on 12/15/2014 8:46:49 PM PST by Taxman
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To: Taxman

Yes, but getting the licence to do so takes some work - and very few people bother even if they could do so.

A large number of people don’t seem to try because they believe it’s even harder than it is.


34 posted on 12/15/2014 8:50:06 PM PST by naturalman1975 ("America was under attack. Australia was immediately there to help." - John Winston Howard)
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To: naturalman1975

PS If there is a lot of misinformation about guns in Australia, where would one go to get the real scoop?

If I could take my guns and ammo to Australia, I might seriously consider moving there.

I had seven Australian liberty visits cancelled by when I was on active duty. I am under the impression that Australia is a wonderful place to live and work.


35 posted on 12/15/2014 8:52:14 PM PST by Taxman
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To: naturalman1975

Is there a movement afoot, or any sentiment to make it easier for one to obtain “permission” to carry?


36 posted on 12/15/2014 8:53:46 PM PST by Taxman
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To: naturalman1975

Very impressive!

What is the procedure for purchasing (respectively) a rifle, a shotgun and a pistol? Does one have to deal with a lot of bureaucracy to do so?


37 posted on 12/15/2014 9:00:24 PM PST by Taxman
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To: Taxman
PS If there is a lot of misinformation about guns in Australia, where would one go to get the real scoop?

Honestly, I don't know. Anti gun sentiment is a very big deal in Australia and most of us who do support gun rights stay pretty quiet about it, because if the gun control nuts get agitated, it makes us more likely to lose even the rights we still have. We work quietly.

If I could take my guns and ammo to Australia, I might seriously consider moving there.

If gun rights matter to you, I wouldn't move here. While guns aren't banned, we have a lot of dumb laws to deal with. You can't own many. And we do have universal licencing and registration. And while there are a lot of guns you can own, there are a lot you can't (and the reasons behind that don't always make sense - often it just seems because it "looked scary" without regard to power or anything like that) and even if it's legal, importing guns can be really hard work because Customs will make it far more difficult than they are supposed to.

I had seven Australian liberty visits cancelled by when I was on active duty. I am under the impression that Australia is a wonderful place to live and work.

In a lot of ways it is. But gun rights are not part of that. To me, for whom a gun is just a tool to have available, I can live with them - but I wouldn't want to be any sort of 'enthusiast' or collector.

38 posted on 12/15/2014 9:02:52 PM PST by naturalman1975 ("America was under attack. Australia was immediately there to help." - John Winston Howard)
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To: Taxman
Is there a movement afoot, or any sentiment to make it easier for one to obtain “permission” to carry?

Yes, we are gradually getting some of the laws relaxed. It's easier to own guns now than it was ten years ago - but it's still harder than it was twenty years ago. 1997-2006 or so were the hardest period.

39 posted on 12/15/2014 9:04:16 PM PST by naturalman1975 ("America was under attack. Australia was immediately there to help." - John Winston Howard)
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To: Taxman
What is the procedure for purchasing (respectively) a rifle, a shotgun and a pistol? Does one have to deal with a lot of bureaucracy to do so?

Yes.

It differs somewhat from state to state, and I can only really speak for my own.

What we have is a graded licencing system. A basic A/B licence that allows you to own basic hunting style rifles (non-semi automatic) and shotguns is quite easy to get as long as you don't have a criminal record. But there's a 28 day waiting period for a first licence.

And even with a licence you need a permit to purchase any gun - and that takes about ten days to get. It's pointless paperwork and it's the part of the process I object to (I personally don't have a problem with requiring a gun licence, viewing it as similar to a drivers licence - but once you have your drivers licence you can just buy a car. Not that easy with guns.

If you want a handgun or a semi-automatic rifle/shotgun, you need a more specialised licence (Category H for handguns, Category C for the longarms) and that requires forms and an interview to get and can be refused for even pretty minor reasons. There's appeals processes if refused, but that just makes it even more complex.

Anything higher than that - fully automatics etc, are theoretically possible but in practice, most people won't get a licence for those.

40 posted on 12/15/2014 9:09:50 PM PST by naturalman1975 ("America was under attack. Australia was immediately there to help." - John Winston Howard)
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