More than 57,000 guns turned over by Australians during national amnesty

by Rebecca Savransky - 03/01/18 7:19 AM ET

More than 57,000 guns were turned over in Australia last year, the BBC reported.

The guns were handed in during a three-month national amnesty during which Australians could turn over guns without fears of prosecution as part of an effort to limit the amount of illicit weapons in the country.

“Taking these unregistered firearms off the streets means they will not fall into the hands of criminals, who might use them to endanger the lives of innocent Australians,” Law Enforcement Minister Angus Taylor said Thursday.

Australians aren’t allowed to own an unregistered firearm and those who violate the law face repercussions including a $280,000 fine and up to 14 years in jail.

The national amnesty was held due to an increase in the number of illegal firearms in Australia, according to the BBC.

Nearly 2,500 automatic weapons and 2,900 handguns were turned in.

Some of the firearms were returned to be sold, while others were destroyed.

It was the first Australian national amnesty since a mass shooting in the country in 1996 that killed 35 people. At that time, residents turned over nearly 650,000 firearms, according to the BBC.

Gun control has recently been thrown into the spotlight in the U.S. after a gunman opened fire at a Florida high school, killing 17 people.

President Trump and other lawmakers are discussing new gun laws as students who survived the shooting demand that lawmakers take action against gun violence.

Tags Donald Trump Firearm