So that means many fine semi-auto competition/hunting shotguns are out also. Part of the problem is cultural history. Our ancestors resentment of the authority of the Crown finally made us make a successful effort to split from it. In England the Army was the mechanism that kept the peasants and serfs in line and maintained order. Owning of a sword by a person not part of the establishment was a capitol offense (after the Norman conquest at least). So the cultural bias was towards depending on the local authority for protection. In America it was a bitter fight just to get any kind of a standing army after independence. We were all sort of Libertarians in those days. Each person was expected to aid in the common good but each one also assumed personal protection for himself and his own. This was more like the Saxon fyrd concept than the Norman-English standing army concept. The concept was also framed in the Constitution on the off chance that some form of government came to power that the general citizenry might take serious offense to in the abrogation of their written and perceived liberties. Of course in those days the highest form of military weapon short of artillery was the musket which often had to be used to both defend yourself and put food on the table. Now there is hardly a case for owning a full auto military grade M-16 under those concepts but the law does permit law biding citizen to own one (at great expense). As a law biding member of society I could apply for and buy an M-60 machinegun and several thousand rounds of ammunition as both a collector and a shooter (they have special machinegun shooting days at some military bases a couple of times a year). The gun itself would cost around $5000 or more. Add in the $1500 for a top of the line gun safe to allow it to be stored in your house and you'd be out $10K in short order if you wanted to shoot it also. I personally don't own any Class 3 weapons (destructive devices that include full auto weapons and other military items that can shoot explosive rounds), but I do have numerous semi-auto handguns and shotguns in addition to revolvers and hunting rifles. I only caught up to my wife recently and she still has more handguns than I do (she collects special model Brownings). So the cost of something like that would be more than a Canon EOS-1D system, which to be honest I'd rather have than even a Browning M1A2 50 cal. machinegun. Except in the event of the breakdown of civilization as we know it. Then I'd be wishing for the 50 cal. BMG instead. Kent Gittings
-----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]On Behalf Of Paul Jones Sent: Tuesday, December 11, 2001 3:30 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: OT: Re: Australians Hi Kent, > Coming from a freedom loving gun happy culture like America I was wondering > how the average Aussie perceives the latest police regs I saw posted from > Australia. >From what i have seen the average Australian doesnt have a problem with it and they find it quite scarey that in the US the gun lobby has such power and that Americans are so 'gun loving'. The new law from memory only stopped ownership of semi-automatic rifles (no automatic also). I dont think that Australia was ever as gun orientated as the US and with current laws if you want a gun to go hunting, use one on your farm or in a gun club (the sort that shoots targets i assume) then you can get one. You just can't buy machine guns and the sort of stuff you could outfit an army with. I think handguns are illegal in all states (TAS?), except for target shooting stuff. It would be a lengthy process to obtain one for this purpose i assume. >. I realize a lot > of it is based on English law (guilty until proven innocent) and not > American law (innocent until proven guilty). This is incorrect. > Over here bumper stickers are a big form of political/social comment. In > this realm a common one goes: > "A man with a gun is a citizen" > "A man without a gun is a subject" We have bumper stickers here, though probaly not to the same extent as the US. I see the odd person, with a sticker "I Vote, I Shoot", these are usually on trucks and utes and look like the sort of person who probaly shouldn't own a gun :) I think Charlton Heston has lost a few browny points here. Regards, Paul - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org . ********************************************************************** This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed. If you have received this email in error please notify the system manager. This footnote also confirms that this email message has been swept by MIMEsweeper for the presence of computer viruses. www.mimesweeper.com ********************************************************************** - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
