Australia is set to begin a gun buyback scheme in November, the first state in the nation to kick-off the program as part of the national response to a shooting spree that killed 15 people at a Hanukkah celebration in the state capital of Sydney.
Gun Buyback Program Details
The scheme would start on November 2. People who return eligible firearms under the first phase would receive fixed compensation ranging from $450 to $1,000 per firearm, depending on the type. A second phase will provide a valuation pathway for certain higher-value firearms, capped at $10,000 per firearm.
Australia’s government said there were a record 4.1 million firearms in the country last year, including more than 1.1 million in New South Wales, its most populous state. The initiative is set to be Australia’s largest buyback since a similar effort following the 1996 massacre in Tasmania’s Port Arthur, when a gunman killed 35 people.
New South Wales generally limits individual firearm ownership to four guns under restrictions sparked by the Bondi Beach attack, with exemptions allowing certain licence holders, including some primary producers, sport shooters and others with specified genuine reasons, to possess more firearms.
Original reporting: Fox News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
