On Friday, the government of gun-controlled Australia admitted that hundreds of thousands of “illegal firearms” remain in criminal possession and launched a new amnesty in hopes of persuading said criminals to turn over the weapons.

In September, Breitbart News reported that Melbourne, Australia, had a gun problem; that they had witnessed more than one shooting a week on average since January 2015.

Moreover, The Age reported:

Known criminals were caught with firearms 755 times [in 2015], compared to 143 times in 2011

The epicentre of the problem is a triangle between Coolaroo, Campbellfield and Glenroy in the north-west, with Cranbourne, Narre Warren and Dandenong in the south-east close behind

Criminals are u sing gunshot wounds to the arms and legs as warnings to pay debts

Assault rifles and handguns are being smuggled into Australia via shipments of electronics and metal parts

Now the government of Australia is admitting that hundreds of thousands of “illegal guns”–i.e., “illicit firearms”–are in the hands of criminals some 20 years after Australia’s gun ban was implemented. And Reuters reports an amnesty will be put in place in 2017 where those in possession of said weapons can turn them in with no questions asked.

Justice Minister Michael Keenan summarized:

The amnesty will provide an opportunity for those individuals who, for whatever reason are in possession of an unregistered firearm, to hand it in without fear of being prosecuted. While Australia has some of the strongest firearm controls in the world, illicit firearms remain the weapon of choice for criminals.

It is interesting to note that Hillary Clinton praised Australia’s original gun confiscation scheme during an October 16, 2015, town hall, describing it as “worth looking at” for policy in the U.S. Yet the example of Melbourne–and now the whole of Australia–proves anew that banning guns disarms law-abiding citizens while criminals remain armed.

AWR Hawkins is the Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and host of Bullets with AWR Hawkins, a Breitbart News podcast. He is also the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.