Gun control in Australia

[William Northcott]

Back on April 28 1996, Martin Bryant ( no relatation to Kobe ) killed 35 innocent people and injured a further 25. He carried out the attack with a semi-automaticular rifle. In the aftermath of the massacre, the government set about tightening up restrictions for the everyday Joe.

The central provisions of the reforms were the ban on semi-automatic rifles and pump action shotguns, accompanied by gun amnesties and two national buybacks, which together saw some 820,000 guns destroyed. Because of their rapid firepower, semi-automatics are the guns of choice for those intent on killing many people quickly. John Howard ( The Prime Minister at the time ) introduced the reforms to prevent US-style mass killings, not primarily to prevent criminal or domestic gun homicides or gun suicides. ( http://www.crikey.com.au/2008/09/09/...t-gun-control/ )

Even just to purchase a standard rifle or shotgun in Aust. requires a month cooling off period before the owner actually receives the firearm ( is the case with new firearms anyway ). It is still possible to possess semi auto or pump action firearms in Australia but the government have made it so hard that only people who really need them can obtain. ( farmers, professional hunters, doomsday preppers etc. )

I know evey man, woman, child and dog has a gun in America ( or so we are lead to believe . ) and enforcing any kind of gun control could be nearly impossible. But even just making it harder for mentally unhealthy people , I think will stop a lot of heart ache.

Wiki article on Australian gun laws
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_p...s_in_Australia

Thanks for your time. Merry Xmas to all my 10th Planet family

[Greg W]

Gun control only keeps guns out of law abiding citizens hands. Bad guys will always find a way to have guns, always.

[Tim Bruhn]

It's a really interesting difference. Once the US has had these laws for so long I don't think they can takem the back as it is now part of the culture.

My thoughts with all affected.

[David Rosado]

Gun control should prevent criminals and mentally unhealthy people from having guns. It should not prevent responsible citizens from owning them. Truth is, we have mass shootings because guns exist. If they didn't, we'd probably have more mass katana slashings or stabbings or baseball bat clubbings. People just use guns because its easier. But killers will always kill. It has nothing to do with guns.

I'm for proper gun control.

[John Alighieri]

NZ version:
http://www.seattleglobalist.com/2012...-shooting/5740

Pretty good read. An American couple talks about the difference between the US and NZ when it comes to getting a gun

[Gray]

The main issue we are faced with these spree killers, is that they aren't criminals. They ARE law abiding citizens.

[Aaron Gustaveson]

Gun control only keeps guns out of law abiding citizens hands. Bad guys will always find a way to have guns, always.

That's what I thought but if you look into it, seems countries with stricter gun laws have low numbers of crimes committed with guns per capita.

I admit I didn't research it very thoroughly.

[Marty McLaren]

But in Australia, unless you can prove a legitimate reason for needing a semi automatic weapon you cannot legally purchase one. Hence, for law abiding citizens it is almost impossible to own. The Port Arthur massacre (as the Martin Bryant shootings mentioned in the original post are known) changed Australian society and attitudes towards gun control. I understand (please correct me if I am wrong) that the right to own a gun is ingrained in the American constitution. Australia's law change doesn't stop people owning a gun it makes it more difficult to own a gun and it makes it near impossible to own the type of gun typically used in a mass shooting.

Touch wood, since 1996 we have not had another mass shooting in Australia since the law changes. We still have homicides and murders committed with firearms but nothing to that scale. Obviously my thoughts are with all the people impacted by this recent shooting. The Port Arthur massacre hit home for me as a member of my old golf club was one of the 35 killed. I did not know him personally but it was scary knowing that a regular everyday person could be one of the innocent victims.

[Logan Hutchins]

Our gun rights are protected by the constitution and also they very state to state. Criminals always find ways to get guns, I'm waiting to find out if the man who did the recent shooting even had his legally. I think a contributeing factors when comparing America to Australia is 1. Population. Americas is about 14 time bigger than Australia. 2. Smuggling guns from Mexica into America is easier (and vice versa) Australia is kinda isolated. 3. Australians are happier than Americans http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/...t-the-happiest

[Logan Hutchins]

http://www.mediaite.com/online/guns-...ng-to-reports/

The guns were not registered to the shooter they were his moms. Connecticut doesn't allow people under 21 to purchase hand guns. The problem here wasn't the laws.