This was forwarded to me by another ex-cop who, frankly, has always shown little interest in the gun control issue. I have no idea where these figures came from or how accurate they may be…can anyone verify them? They sound about right…

>Hi Yanks, I thought you all would like to see the real figures
>from Down Under. It has now been 12 months since gun
>owners in Australia were forced by new law to surrender
>640,381 personal firearms to be destroyed by our own government, a program
>costing Australia taxpayers
>more than $500 million dollars. The first year results are
>now in:

>Australia-wide, homicides are up 3.2 percent.
>Australia-wide, assaults are up 8.6 percent.
>Australia-wide, armed robberies are up 44 percent (yes,
>44 percent!)
>In the state of Victoria alone, homicides with firearms
>are now up 300 percent. (Note that while the
>law-abiding citizens turned guns in, the criminals did not
>and criminals still possess their guns! While figures
>over the previous 25 years showed a steady decrease in
>armed robbery with firearms, this has changed drastically upward in the
>past
>12 months, since the criminals now
>are guaranteed that their prey is unarmed.
>There has also been a dramatic increase in break-ins
>and assaults of the elderly.
>Australian politicians are at a loss to explain how public
>safety has decreased, after such monumental effort and expense was expended
>in successfully ridding Australian society of guns. You won’t see this
>data
>on the American evening news or hear your governor or members of
>the state Assembly disseminating this information.
>The Australian experience proves it. Guns in the
>hands of honest citizens save lives and property and yes,
>gun-control laws affect only the law-abiding citizens.
>Take note Americans, and Canadians now, before it’s too late!”
>”PLEASE FORWARD TO EVERYONE ON YOUR EMAIL LIST”
>
> Bill