Gun Control works in Australia

[vmax]

Go at it....

 

On April 28, 1996, a gunman opened fire on tourists in a seaside resort in Port Arthur, Tasmania. By the time he was finished, he had killed 35 people and wounded 23 more. It was the worst mass murder in Australia’s history.

 

Twelve days later, Australia’s government did something remarkable. Led by newly elected conservative Prime Minister John Howard, it announced a bipartisan deal with state and local governments to enact sweeping gun-control measures. A decade and a half hence, the results of these policy changes are clear: They worked really, really well.

 

At the heart of the push was a massive buyback of more than 600,000 semi-automatic shotguns and rifles, or about one-fifth of all firearms in circulation in Australia. The country’s new gun laws prohibited private sales, required that all weapons be individually registered to their owners, and required that gun buyers present a “genuine reason” for needing each weapon at the time of the purchase. (Self-defense did not count.) In the wake of the tragedy, polls showed public support for these measures at upwards of 90 percent.

 

 

What happened next has been the subject of several academic studies. Violent crime and gun-related deaths did not come to an end in Australia, of course. But as the Washington Post’s Wonkblog pointed out in August, homicides by firearm plunged 59 percent between 1995 and 2006, with no corresponding increase in non-firearm-related homicides. The drop in suicides by gun was even steeper: 65 percent. Studies found a close correlation between the sharp declines and the gun buybacks. Robberies involving a firearm also dropped significantly. Meanwhile, home invasions did not increase, contrary to fears that firearm ownership is needed to deter such crimes. But here’s the most stunning statistic. In the decade before the Port Arthur massacre, there had been 11 mass shootings in the country. There hasn’t been a single one in Australia since.

http://www.slate.com/blogs/crime/2012/12/16/gun_control_after_connecticut_shooting_could_australia_s_laws_provide_a.html

 

I'm for it.

I've lived in Baltimore all my life, worked in the city, spend a lot of time all over town and never needed a gun. I've never owned one.

There are a ton of plasces in this city where I don't feel safe....they are also not worth walking into with a gun so I could feel safer......so I don't go there.

 

While rehabing houses in the getto I was shot at twice...so I quit that line of work. I've had the right side of a coat blown off of me on another occasion and a man standing next to me who was shot in the chest...he lived. I had a gun pulled on me in a robbery when I was managing a store. When he said" turn and walk to the back of the store" it was the longest 20 steps I ever took....he didn't shoot and went out the front door.

That's a lot of gun action for a civillian to be exposed to. None of it prompeted me to want a gun. A gun would not have helped me in any of those situations.

 

I don't feel like killing anybody. When a gun is pulled on you, it's too late to get yours out. They got "the drop" on you. To avoid that from happening you'd have to go down the street commando style with your gun out, ready to fire in an instant at each person and situation you encounter. That's not living to me.

 

Now...I really like skeet shooting, blowing up bottles and targets....but not enough to buy a gun.

[papasmurfbell]

I saw a YT vid today but taking the other stance. They were talking about how crime has skyrocketed. They had to write laws for home invasions. One thing is it sounded very pro NRA so I take it with a huge grain of salt. I need to do more checking.

[OutsideRzAcE]

I'm for it too, but the country is not ready for this. We have to wait for more attitudes to change and, unfortunately, more people to die.

 

I think the goal for now should be limiting the amount of guns on the streets. Maybe restricitng how many guns people can buy in a period of time, making background checks mandatory for every sale (private or not). I think we may even be one or two generations away from having 90% support for gun control measures like that.

 

Sounds like you went threw some terrifying events earlier in your life. I have come across guns twice in my life. As a highschooler I went to see a couple of movies with a fired at Westview Mall and when we got back into my car a couple of guys opened our doors and one stuck his gun in my lap. They got away with some cash and jewelery.

 

The 2nd incident was a couple of years ago in the inner harbor. We (my wife, my son who was in a stroller at the time, and my cousin) were in one of the pavillion when a couple of kids fired shots about 10 yards away. We just saw a rush of people run towards us (we were waiting for ice cream near the doors). We couldn't get out fast with my son in a stroller so I huddled my familiy in the corner and when everyone had passed we exited. When we left I saw a trail of blood leading out. I won't take the family back to the inner harbor at night anymore. It seems that's when the idiots come out.

Like you, niether incident made me want to carry. As I've said before in recent years I have considered buying a gun for family protection, but so far I have opted against it.

Edited December 18, 2012 by OutsideRzAcE

[papasmurfbell]

 

Why do police need military style weapons?

[vmax]

I'm for it too, but the country is not ready for this. We have to wait for more attitudes to change and, unfortunately, more people to die.

 

 

Did you arrive at this conclusion after discussing this issue with other people?

[OutsideRzAcE]

 

Did you arrive at this conclusion after discussing this issue with other people?

 

Whatever do you mean? In all seriousness I live and work in a region that has a serious love affair with guns so I am no stranger to the attitudes of gun advocates. I will say that the gun owners I know are all open to increased controls/background checks, etc, they just still want their guns. I have seen attitudes change and stances soften after Sandy hook. The NRA and their rank and file will probably try to wait this out but I'm very confident something will be done, but whatever it is, the new controls need to have some teeth as opposed to being a token effort.

[papasmurfbell]

The issue is the NRA leadership. the regular members are much more reasonable. The NRA pushed to have people on the terrorist watchlist be able to buy a gun. The members don't agree with them.

[vmax]

A co-worker said his 16 year old son fired 2 shots at him a week ago and missed He has some mental issues and was not on his medication at the time...anger turned to rage. He got angry, ran to where he knew his Fathers gun was kept, came back and fired.

 

No gun at home...no possible death in this situation.

Yes...the gun was not locked up, but it was hidden. Locking it up would have stopped this too...but how many guns are accessable to kids?

How many does 1 man need?

 

Also...this issue is way deeper than just guns and gun control. Something is seriously wrong with any individual who would fire a gun at anyone. That must be identified and addressed just as much as gun control.

Guns kill. People kill. Minimize the risk factor in both catagories. Lower the odds of both Killer and gun hooking up. Get better gun control and help for people who are at risk to be killers.

Maybe we can halve the murder rate in time... like Australia.

 

Or to put it this way:

If God came into your living room and said "Under the current circumstances your (pick one: wife, husband, child) will be shot to death 5 years from now. If better gun control laws are passed and funds are provided to get proper help to those who are likely to use them on people, than that murder rate will drop 50% and your (pick one: wife, husband, child) will not be shot. Will you vote for that?"

Edited December 19, 2012 by vmax

[vmax]

One more thing.

 

What do you call a person who is depressed with delusions of granduer?

There's a huge population of them out there.

They are one step away from pulling a trigger.

 

There's a kid who lives a block away that I haven't seen in years. He used to hang out with my sons when they were kids. Now all he does is smoke pot and post on facebook about how "Bad" he is and how he and his "Peeps" will "Cap" you. He's 22 and going nowhere. My son replied to one of his posts with "LOL! Yea right!" He was good humoredly joking. That's all he posted.

This guy shows up banging at my front door demanding me to get my son because he's going to fuck my son up for making fun of him on Facebook. If you saw him and saw my son you'd bet the house on my son. I said "Is that you_______?"

He says "I'll fuck you up too!" I looked for a gun...pulled out my phone, called the police right in front of him. He ran.

His Father's getting him help now.

 

Like I said...your neighborhood is loaded with people like this. Most only boast and brag...but there's that one who cracks...believes the 587 people talking in his head...and goes all in.

Read the Sun every morning....their stories are there...everyday.

[papasmurfbell]

A co-worker said his 16 year old son fired 2 shots at him a week ago and missed He has some mental issues and was not on his medication at the time...anger turned to rage. He got angry, ran to where he knew his Fathers gun was kept, came back and fired.

 

No gun at home...no possible death in this situation.

Yes...the gun was not locked up, but it was hidden. Locking it up would have stopped this too...but how many guns are accessable to kids?

How many does 1 man need?

 

Also...this issue is way deeper than just guns and gun control. Something is seriously wrong with any individual who would fire a gun at anyone. That must be identified and addressed just as much as gun control.

Guns kill. People kill. Minimize the risk factor in both catagories. Lower the odds of both Killer and gun hooking up. Get better gun control and help for people who are at risk to be killers.

Maybe we can halve the murder rate in time... like Australia.

 

Or to put it this way:

If God came into your living room and said "Under the current circumstances your (pick one: wife, husband, child) will be shot to death 5 years from now. If better gun control laws are passed and funds are provided to get proper help to those who are likely to use them on people, than that murder rate will drop 50% and your (pick one: wife, husband, child) will not be shot. Will you vote for that?"

 

 

Why was his gun not under lock and key? The same can be said about the mother of this nut in CT.

[oldcrow]

good ol Spike

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECehew2RW08

[cravnravn]

How come everyone of our kids have that "one in every crowd" lunatic / My daughters crowd had one of those types that if you didny agree with him he'd threaghten you with harm or death. It used to make us nervous as hell when we'd hear she was hanging around with him..Its cruel, but Im relieved he found his dads gun and put it in his mouth and pulled the trigger.