Refrain of the Great American Ostrich: "They'll Never Outlaw MY Guns!"

More gun-grabbing going on in Australia, according to this report

Firearms fixed in Government's sights

By David Rood
July 29 2003

Historic firearms could be destroyed as a result of the $118 million national handgun buyback scheme, collectors warned yesterday.

Under the scheme, which starts in Victoria on Friday, all pre-1900 percussion and post-percussion handguns must be registered and owners must have category one collectors' licences.

The president of the Historic Arms Collecting Council of Australasia, Gordon Morgan, said the council supported controls on concealable weapons, but putting antique firearms in the same category would "crush our heritage".

"We don't shoot these guns. We're custodians of our heritage," he said. "The collections in private hands are far greater than any museum in this country."

Mr Morgan said the firearms, worth up to $250,000 for pistols used by 19th-century bushrangers, were not a threat to the community.

He said owners would rather hand in their guns than go through the registration process, being photographed and fingerprinted.

They must now also install security doors and safes in the rooms where the arms are kept.

An alternative to the new legislation, Mr Gordon said, would be to allow bona fide members of collecting societies to purchase, show and exchange the weapons.

But a spokesman for state Police Minister Andre Haermeyer said that while there were many responsible gun owners and collectors, the measures agreed to by federal, state and territory governments ensured that handguns were used only for legitimate purposes.

"What we can't get away from here is that these are guns," the spokesman said. "The object of the national handgun buyback is to ensure that handguns don't make their way onto the streets."

Gun Control Australia president John Crook said the new storage requirements would be considered onerous by some, but they were needed because antique firearms could still cause harm if stolen and used.

"The public has every reason to want as strict a control as possible over every gun," Mr Crook said. The Federal Government expects to collect 65,000 weapons in the buyback and amnesty scheme.

(All emphasis mine.)

So now the Aussies are worried about black-powder handguns? And all they have to do to get rid of them is make it obnoxiously difficult and expensive to keep them.

May I suggest something to American gun owners? How about purchasing one of these:

That's an Uberti replica of the 1858 Remington revolver in stainless steel. Yes, it's a cap-and-ball front-stuffer (currently not BATF defined as a "firearm," and can be purchased without a background check direct and shipped UPS to your door) but the cylinder at the bottom of the picture? That's a conversion cylinder. It allows the gun to fire .45 Long Colt cartridges. They come as a pair, currently on sale through 12/31/03 from Midway USA for $510.00. Perfectly legal. There are a lot of other conversions available, for example, the excellent Ruger Old Army:

Also in stainless, but a bit pricier at $789.99 (currently out of stock, though.)

Just a thought.

UPDATE:

I knew somebody had to be fighting to "close" this "loophole."