PA Bill Number: HB2311
Title: Establishing the School Mental Health Screening Grant and Development Program.
Description: Establishing the School Mental Health Screening Grant and Development Program. ...
Last Action: Laid on the table
Last Action Date: Sep 23, 2024
Australia: More than 6000 guns stolen across Australia feared to be headed for black market :: 11/30/2016
No one ever wanted to steal a gun for honest purposes and that’s why authorities are alarmed that more than 6000 firearms have been stolen across Australia during the past two years and are likely being traded on the black market by violent criminals.
According to figures by Gun Control Australia, 6451 firearms were reported stolen between 2013 and 2015 with majority of the thefts occurring in Victoria followed by NSW.
It’s the first time gun theft figures have gone public since the 2007/08 financial year.
Surprisingly during that year only 1712 thefts occurred, according to the Australian Institute of Criminology.
However, only 12 to 13 percent of those stolen firearms were actually recovered.
Majority of the guns stolen in NSW between 2013 and 2015 were nicked from regional or rural homes including farm houses.
The most common types of firearms stolen include hunting rifles (category A) or general hunting shot guns (category B) which are both likely to fetch up to $300 on the black market.
"With a record number of gun thefts, it is clear governments have seriously been neglecting the alarming rate at which guns are being stolen from private homes and the flow of these guns into the illicit gun market," the head of Gun Control Australia Sam Lee told Fairfax Media.
"Gun theft is a major issue, yet the government keeps telling us that illegal importing of firearms in the problem.
“The problem is right in front of us, in fact possibly right next door to us."
Gun Control Australia is now calling on a crackdown on storage requirements for gun owners as well as reminding people who’ve had a firearm stolen to report it to authorities or they are actually breaking the law.
There’s also a push for gun owners to install security systems at their homes or properties.
