SYDNEY, Australia — The first numbers for the National Gun Amnesty are in, and more than 12,500 unregistered firearms have been surrendered since it started last month, Michael Keenan, the minister for justice, announced on Thursday.
The amnesty, which is running from July 1 to Sept. 30, allows people to hand unwanted or unregistered firearms over to the police and to licensed firearm dealers without fear of prosecution. Ordinarily, the possession of an unregistered firearm can bring a fine of up to 280,000 Australian dollars ($220,000) or 14 years in jail.
Are potential criminals lining up to hand in their guns? Maybe not, said Philip Alpers, an associate professor at the University of Sydney and a gun policy specialist. While he called the amnesty “a real success,” he described many of the weapons being handed in as “rubbish guns.” “I would suspect the great majority of guns that have been surrendered are long guns, which have very little value to their owners and even less value to criminals.”
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While the last nationwide firearms amnesty in 1996 was hailed as a success for Australia, the most important changes over the last 20 years may have been in the public’s attitude toward gun safety. For example, Professor Alpers said, Australians are now more likely to believe that the person most at risk from a firearm in the home is a member of their own family, either from suicide or accidents.
“Try telling gun owners that 15 years ago — they largely laughed at you,” he said. “Now they’re starting to take it far more seriously.”
