Bikers Down Under show that crime doesn't pay...

[nhmaf]

This was too funny to not share:
http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/02/28/biker.meeting/index.html

If such dim-witted would-be robbers attempted something similar in these parts, they'd
probably be met with much worse than being hit with furniture and "helped" through
some windows !
 

Good on ya, mates !

[Danie]

Ha ha - it almost sounds like an April Fool joke !    

[Justin B.]

This was actually mentioned on the local news this morning!  

[MrRiden]

Couldn't happen here in Feenix. Most of the riders I know are armed. Bringing a machete in for a robbery is... well ya know.
rich  

[Rob Valdez 79 R65]

Couldn't happen here in Feenix. Most of the riders I know are armed. Bringing a machete in for a robbery is... well ya know.
rich  

As I understand it, firearms are a little harder to come by in Australia.

[nhmaf]

Yup, that is true.

I wonder if one could get arrested for carrying a concealed end table or table lamp down there, though...
 

[Ed Miller]

I read they were trying to outlaw swords.  The machete incident probably won't help....

People down there, is it true?

[aussie]

LOL - I hadn't even heard about this! We breed 'em thick Down Under. Since the Pt Arthur massacre down in Tasmania a few years ago the Govt started getting tough on guns. Certainly you've never been able to go into the local equivalent of Wal-Mart and purchase a pistol (though many years ago you could go into some sport shops and purchase either a rifle or shotgun provided you had a gun licence). There was a gun buy-back system as a result of this. Relatively few people have got guns (rifles / shotguns) here and as far as I know you have to have to be in the police force or handling vast amounts of cash before you are allowed to carry a pistol. Having said that, it is not uncommon for the news to report that they uncovered a load of drugs together with a pistol or rifle. You are no longer allowed to purchase even an airgun as far as I know. I know that things such as 'modern fighting swords' (the ones that Martial Arts people use can't be bought over the Internet) - though I'm pretty sure you can purchase antique swords from o/s provided Immigration are satisfied with your credentials.  Items such as numchukas are also on the banned list. Knives are also a bit of an issue (see link)

http://www.aushunt.com.au/main/mainarticle2.php?articleid=9a4716ac32

In theory this is supposed to be making Australia safer - though the reported incidences of crime is increasing.....

aussie

[Darwin_R65]

must admit it's interesting an American news agency reported this but no Australian news services did.

personally instead of CNN I prefer CNNNN ( a comedy show here in Australia)



John

[Justin B.]

Aussie,

I feel for you guys and I'm scared to death the leftist liberals in this country will do the same thing if in power.  Most places outright firearms bans have been put into effect have seen a tremendous rise in violent crime as the crooks know it's a good bet their victim won't be armed.

[aussie]

To be honest Justin, I don't actually have an issue with the banning of guns in Australia - possibly because I was not brought up with seeing them (though having said that my father was a Company Secretary and was required to carry a pistol many years ago). I've only shot a rifle and a shotgun once and handguns twice.

What gets me riled though is the rights of a criminal. Imagine if you can: You've been out in the backyard digging a hole to place a tree. You leave it because you have to go out. A burglar comes into the backyard that night and trips as a result of the hole and consequently breaks their leg. They are able to sue the home owner because it was not adequately covered. This has happened. Imagine also a burglar attempts to break into a house via the roof by removing some tiles but falls through the ceiling. If it is determined that the ceiling is in anyway unsafe, they can sue. This too has happened. <Shakes head sadly> Now that I truely don't understand. [smiley=furious3.gif]

Oh and the final point to add insult to injury....We have recently been able to use reasonable force if you catch a criminal in your house and you fear for your safety. However, people have again been found guilty of using excessive force when dealing with this. A couple of years ago - just after the law was brought in, a homeowner was found guilty after the burglar ran from the house and the homeowner ran after him and thumped the heck out of him. Go figure.

[Justin B.]

Sadly it is close to that over here in some areas.  Texas passed the "Castle" law (A man's home is his castle...) a few years ago.  This made it so you didn't have to retreat from an intruder in your own house and whatever happens to them - tough!  There had been law-suits in the past where criminals (or survivors) sued...

[Ed Miller]

I thought those idiotic law suits were only here in the U.S.  

[nhmaf]

We don't have a "castle" law on the books in my state, but we are a fairly Liberterian leaning crowd here, unlike our neighbors to the south in the Kommonwealth of Massachusetts.     I think that a burglar, especially if armed with anything, happened to experience a broken leg from a simple hole in the lawn or errant garden tool across the face, no jury up here would find fault with the homeowner, even if said burglar were to contract lead poisoning from entering the home.

[not-so-fast-ed]

Our small Georgia town went the other way in the 80's.  They enacted an ordinance that REQUIRED gun ownership.   The crime rate had never been very high back then, but it dropped even farther.

http://www.rense.com/general9/gunlaw.htm

http://www.mcsm.org/kennesaw.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kennesaw

I was brought up in upstate New York, where hunting season was (and still is) a major event.  Owned a .22 when I was 12.  Passed the following on to my kids as they grew up.  "You shoot it, you eat it".
Never had a bit of trouble with them misusing a firearm.  They learned firearm safety way before they ever pulled a trigger.  Kids are now in their late twenties and guns are not in their current life, but like riding a bicycle and motorcycle, they will never forget what they learned as a child.

OK, Off my soapbox.

 

Ed