As further proof that Australia’s restrictive gun laws haven’t negatively affected criminals—only law-abiding gun owners—the Australian government is offering another firearms amnesty program.
Despite offering no compensation for surrendered firearms, government officials hope that the plan will net 260,000 of an estimated 600,000 illegally possessed guns.
Interestingly, according to a report at nraila.org, from 1987 to 2015 there were 41 (38 state and 3 federal) firearm amnesties of various durations in Australia. And researchers calculate the total number of firearms turned in to various authorities over that period at about 1.1 million. In light of these facts, another gun amnesty just shows how ineffective gun laws are at keeping firearms out of the hands of criminals.