Originally Posted by
tommygun
I read somewhere that the Police were reviewing the Arms Act to evaluate whether the E-cat register is worth having, my guess is all semis will be made A, or (more likely) E. This will be a pain for most people, as tens, probably hundreds of thousands of the quarter-million license holders will have to buy a new safe, and register those firearms effected. I can't imagine the logistical nightmare awaiting police if they have to track down and inform every license holder in the country that all semis are now E-cat, and then issuing tens of thousands of free endorsements. The Law of Unintended Consequences here will result in many of those people keeping those semi-autos, buying a new safe, and then going and buying as many big, scary, 30 round magazines as they like; the opposite of what the police and media want to see. We could go from 7300 to 107300 E-cat holders in a very short period of time, and while I don't want to see it happen, I only have one A-cat semi-auto, and if I had to register it and pop it in the E-cat safe next to the L1A1, I wouldn't lose any sleep. Having many more people with endorsements actually might result in them trying harder to keep hold of their investments, and putting more pressure on the govt and Police as a result.
As other have pointed out, Police are (quite rightly) shocked at what they come across in the possession of gang members, but if these firearms were being acquired for premeditated crimes, that's what they'd be used for. Instead they are clearly status symbols, and maybe to be used against other gangs, and don't really see the light of day unless whoever has it gets drunk enough or angry enough to use it. Yes this is concerning, but it means these crims have weighed up the pros and cons and know that (in some cases I've seen) a $200 fine is all they face if caught with it. So, I think a $10,000 fine for any gang member caught with a firearm would go a long way to dissuading them, plus $100 per round of ammunition, and if the can't pay, it can come out of their benefit until paid off. Also the current security requirements for A-cat licenses are a joke, the booklet that comes with the arms code these says you can just chain them around an immovable object like a rafter or hot-water cylinder.
Online registration in gun shops? Three out of my four co-workers don't even know how to log on to Fish & Game to issue a fishing license to a customer, but hey, it'd be fun to watch.
As for Woody, he is certainly entitled to express his opinion; that's what a forum is for, but he ought to have known most of us on here shoot semi-autos. If he thinks we have anger management issues and are mentally unstable for disagreeing with him, then I dare say he may be a bit soft. Perhaps shooting and hunting are too controversial, and he ought to consider another hobby. Cup-stacking is a sport, apparently.