and don't get the extent of the US love affair with guns. And yes, many gun owners do love their guns.

In addition, here in the wild west, folks need their long guns outside the cities because this is bear and cougar country. If they're lucky enough to get one of the hunting licenses that doesn't go to some urban trophy hunter, they really rely on having that deer or elk in the freezer. This is a poor state.

Banning guns is just not going to happen. What we all hope for (except the gun culture) is that large magazines are banned. We'd also love to see semi auto guns banned, but that's a tougher fight. The best we can hope for here is slowing the squirrels determined to commit mass murder down, giving the police time to arrive.

Honestly, you'd have more success banning beer in Oz.

I remember back when the buy-back scheme happened, a friend of mine belonged to a gun club and had some rifles that fell into the category of 'too dangerous for someone to own'. He grumbled a lot, especially because he claimed he wasn't going to be given a fair price, but while he liked having his guns, he didn't *love* them, and he dutifully handed them in.

I don't get how less than a week after so many small children and their teachers were slaughtered that I'm seeing stuff on the internet from Americans who love their guns so goddam much that talking about how much they love them, going on and on about their precious Second Amendment, and advocating some sort of civil war if gun reform is brought in, is to them a sensitive way of responding to the massacre.

What I really don't understand is how two countries with similar beginnings as British colonies, and kinda similar in other ways, managed to be so vastly different when it comes to guns.

Last edited Fri Dec 21, 2012, 12:01 AM - Edit history (1)

I so detest him and what he did to Australia, but when it comes to gun control, it does seem like complete wankers like him and Rupert Murdoch also support gun control...


EARLY in 2008 Janette and I were guests of the former president, George H. W. Bush or ”41”, as he is affectionately known, at his Presidential Library in College Station, Texas. I spoke to a warm and friendly audience of more than 300 who enthusiastically reacted until, in answer to a request to nominate the proudest actions of the Australian government I had led for almost 12 years, I included the national gun control laws enacted after the Port Arthur massacre in April 1996.

Having applauded my references to the liberation of East Timor, leaving Australia debt free, presiding over a large reduction in unemployment and standing beside the US in the global fight against terrorism, there was an audible gasp of amazement at my expressing pride in what Australia had done to limit the use of guns.

I had been given a sharp reminder that, despite the many things we have in common with our American friends, there is a huge cultural divide when it comes to the free availability of firearms.

<snip>

A key component of the 1996 measure, which banned the sale, importation and possession of all automatic and semi-automatic rifles and shotguns, was a national buy-back scheme involving the compulsory forfeiture of newly illegal weapons. Between 1996 and 1998 more than 700,000 guns were removed and destroyed. This was one-fifth of Australia’s estimated stock of firearms. The equivalent in the US would have been 40 million guns. Australia’s action remains one of the largest destructions of civilian firearms.

Australia is a safer country as a result of what was done in 1996. It will be the continuing responsibility of current and future federal and state governments to ensure the effectiveness of those anti-gun laws is never weakened. The US is a country for which I have much affection. There are many American traits which we Australians could well emulate to our great benefit. But when it comes to guns we have been right to take a radically different path.

http://guncontrol.org.au/2012/08/howard-on-guns/

I noticed that the NRA got up on Friday and stated that there should be more guns to protect schools.
I have a NEWS FLASH fir the NRA.....go away and just hope that its NOT your kids that are the next ones that could/would be assassinated.
The NRA should be ashamed of themselves.John Howard did the right thing,BUT we dont have an out of date constitution,(unlike the US)that was written in 1778 and made law in 1780,and the 2nd law states that an American has the right to bare arms......we we in Australia to drive a motor vehicle,BUT you break the law and you pay for it,we also have many laws that you break them and you pay for it.The Port Arthur assassination,the bloke got what he deserved and why,well he broke the law.It seems to me that no matter what one does in the US that the culprit,wont stand by what they have done and they save the jails by killing themselves,BUT that doesn't stop the heartache of the families.
Its time that USA did something with their constitution and that the NRA was put into its place.....
I dont care what these people think and what they say,BUT hey just remember that one day it could be a member of your family and then what will you say.
I disagreed with many things that JWH did,BUT I do have to agree with that law and the buyback......