New Gun Ownership Search Engine Shows How Many Of Your Neighbours Pack Heat

Perhaps it’s a testament to Australia’s stringent gun laws that gun crime still holds a shock-factor. By and large, belligerent Aussies choose to maim each other through less ballistic means, but a new search engine unveiled by Greens MP David Shoebridge shows the option is definitely there.

The site, rhetorically titled How Many Guns Are In Your Suburb – with the URL toomanyguns.org – allows you, should you wish, to get a tally of registered boomsticks within the immediate vicinity of your NSW postcode.

It’s important to note that on-the-level collectors, who are required to register post-1900 antiques and otherwise unusable firearms, would likely make up a considerable number of hits… but damn, there probably are more guns about than you would have expected.

Observe:

The site uses the stats to argue for more stringent regulations, before saying the “dozens of people in ordinary suburbs and towns who quite literally own private arsenals” shouldn’t really be allowed to do so. 

It’s not made clear if any of the registered owners are involved in a business venture that requires stacks of guns – security services, for example – but still, that’s a LOT of guns. 

Of course, Shoebridge and The Greens have been quite vocal about the issue recently; on last week’s Port Arthur-referencing edition of SBS’ Insight, he told gun advocating pollies John Howard’s broad-reaching laws were still worthy of a big thumbs up. 

Some remarkable bipartisanship @ShoebridgeMLC #insightsbs pic.twitter.com/AlbitPg9Fj

— Insight on SBS (@insightSBS) April 5, 2016

Again, Australia’s gun control laws make it pretty hard for anyone to do so legally without being pretty bloody responsible about it, and the incidences of one-man-armies barreling through our streets pale in comparison to the number of cowboy dickheads who roam around with solitary unregistered weapons. 
 
Still. Once more. Again. That’s a lot of fucking guns. There are plans to take the site nationwide, but if you’re in NSW, check out your own postcode right here.  

Source: Too Many Guns.