Why Firearms Restrictions?

Why Firearms Restrictions?

·      Terrorism

·      Crime

·      Suicides

Do restrictions on law abiding licensed firearms owners do anything to stop the above problems/threats? Answer: No

Why No? Because law abiding citizens are not criminals or terrorists & if they want to commit suicide they have other gentler means of killing themselves without blowing their brains out.

How do restrictions to muzzle-loading long arms & pistols effect the above? They don’t is the easy answer. No criminal will choose a muzzle-loading firearm over a modern breach loading firearm to use in committing a crime.

Why are restrictions placed on muzzle-loading firearms by the Australian government if by doing so it has no effects on crime, terrorism or suicide? Good question, & if we could actually ask the government this question & get an answer, it would be very interesting to hear but probably complete & utter bullshit.

Firearms restrictions are based on the premise that they keep the public safe, but to date that has never been proven to be the case, in fact, there is some question as to whether being able to carry a side arm in public may not actually be a deterrent to crime & terrorism.

Let us take a look at the rules in NSW concerning muzzle-loading firearms:

·      Antique muzzle-loading guns do not require a permit to purchase, registration, or a firearms licence. But you are not legally allowed to fire an antique gun.

·      Replica muzzle-loading guns are exactly the same as antique muzzle-loading guns, exactly the same in all respects. The loading procedure, the firing procedure, & the ignition method. All are the same. Replica muzzle-loaders are just that, they are replicated copies of originals. Not breach loaders, not smokeless gunpowder, not fast loading, not high powered. But still they require registration, permit to purchase, & a firearms licence. In the case of a flintlock, matchlock, tinderlock or wheel lock pistol, they require a Pistol Licence, & to get a pistol licence you have to join a pistol club, & to maintain membership you have to attend regular meetings, & the membership is expensive. On top of this you are not allowed to use this muzzle-loading pistol anywhere except on an approved firing range.

Anyone wanting to make a crude muzzle-loading gun can do so in about 30 minutes using a piece of gas pipe. It would be illegal to do so, but it could easily be done. Yet the above restrictions on these primitive guns are supposed to be keeping the public safe from harm. If it were not so serious, if it did not seriously affect people’s rights to recreation through Living History & Historical Re-enacting, it would be laughable. The legislators who pen these laws may well be looked on as a joke, but the restrictions they place on law abiding citizens is no joke.

I respect other people’s points of view, I understand why some people are frightened by guns. I understand & respect their wish not to own or use a gun, even in the defence of their loved ones & themselves. But I simply can not understand why they are unable to look at the situation & understand that law abiding citizens are not the enemy, we are not a part of the problem, and we are not criminals. Treating us as such is unforgivable & an offence against human rights.

Disagreeing with someone is a human right, but spreading misinformation & lies is something else. The Greens, the government & other anti-gun lobby groups are guilty of spreading misinformation, lies & fear mongering in order to achieve further restrictions on firearms & ammunition just to satisfy their own need to control people, to gain some sort of power. It makes them feel good. What then does this say for these sorts of people?

We, the law abiding gun owner are not totally blameless in the restrictions that we suffer. Self-serving organisations such as the S.S.A.A. (Sporting Shooters Association Of Australia) could be doing a lot more for Australian gun owners, but instead it seems to me that they are more interested in not rocking the boat & at the same time lining their own pockets. Individuals are divided, muzzle-loading shooters have always readily backed modern gun shooters, but modern firearms owners are often guilty of hanging us black powder enthusiasts out to dry! I don’t see that anyone is dividing us, we seem to have divided ourselves. When we finally have so many restrictions & possibly even confiscations, then we will have no one to blame but ourselves.
Keith H. Burgess.