Australian gun laws - should they be reviewed?

Um - they WERE speaking for themselves ... and simply pointed out that on many forums, a debate such as this would not be allowed to continue ... not once did they indicate that this thread should be closed or the topic banned ... the point raised is that "gun ownership" and laws are a topic that is emotional - therefore people have their beliefs and will not be swayed - no different from shares versus property

 

That's exactly the point I'm trying to make.

 

Mark, do you really feel that threatened living in Australia that you need to carry a gun?

 

Nah they don't need review. I like them just the way they are, can still hunt and target shoot easily if that's your thing. Good regulations around storage of firearms, ammo, safety handling procedures.

 

We have about 8 (nerf) guns in our house...thanks to oldest son....so far no deaths, but never-ending litter of bullets being found behind and under furniture.

 

Kumbaya types. Hmm. Yes. How about Obama in his recent Address to the Nation....after another sickening and horrible massive killing. As well as the only reliable news commentators in the US. The Comedy Channel's Daily Show and Larry Wilmont. Comedy Channel rules.

Just let me know if you want some US based news clips. Happy to provide.

 

I'm not entirely convinced that the US culture is that difference from our own, despite that I'd like to believe otherwise. Australia's military history had parallels to the US in many respects. We have a significant defence establishment which drives a large part of economy as well. Had it not been for some changes in the 80s and 90s to the banking sector, I could see the country having the same GFC style crash that the US and much of the world enjoyed.

I think as a nation we benefit greatly by being geographically isolated and having a small population. It's fostered a strong independent nature which has influenced our nations attitudes socially, politically and economically.

Despite this, I can see a lot of parallels, many of which are a little disturbing. We are indeed a young and optimistic country, a lucky country. A few adjustments here and there in our history, we could be a lot close to the US in culture than we'd like to admit.

 

No, of course not. I live next door to Melbourne's most notorious drug motel and feel perfectly safe.

I just think that our gun laws are overbearing and need to be reformed.

 

Having lived there; I can concur.

They are broadly are the same, with small differences in everyday life things mainly.

 

Can you be more specific?

You've mentioned that Australians should have the right to carry firearms. There are a few practical issues with that make it problematic within the current legislation, so there'd need to be more significant changes than simply stating that approved people have the right to carry firearms in public.

* Handguns are highly restricted and generally only available to law enforcement and gun clubs. Pistols don't really have a practical purpose in society besides shooting other people, so I can't see why this restriction should be lifted. It's kind of impractical for a civilian to carry a rifle in the street. Handgun restrictions would need to be lifted.

* Allowing people to carry firearms at will makes it very easy to store firearms (and ammunition) irresponsibly, even if only for a few minutes. You come home from carrying your (now legal) pistol around all day. You take off your work clothes to get into something more comfortable leaving the gun on bedside table next to your wallet. Of course it's loaded because it's useless otherwise. Whilst you're changing your shirt the 4 year old picks up the gun and shoots a family member. Opps!

The logical conclusion of the right to carry firearms is opening the availability of firearms to purposes that are clearly outside legal use and unsafe storage practices in even the most liberal society. Are you suggesting lifting these restrictions and potentially giving children access to firearms they can physically handle (a 4 year old probably would have trouble lifting a rifle but is strong enough to point a pistol) and don't have the emotional maturity to handle safely?

 

Easy access to any weapon available on the open market.

Just kidding.

 

Irrespective how tough gun laws are (and ours are among the most stringent in the world), criminals will still get access to firearms. Do you think they go through the hoops to get permits/firearms licenses? NO they don't!

 

I beg to differ. We may speak the same language........but the 2 countries are very different in many ways.

I hope and wish for the day that the US is as peaceful a community as Australia.......and I have purposefully sought out a place to live that can kind of replicate that for my children who now live in the US.

And yes......I know the difference between patronizing and being unintentionally or intentionally offensive.

I also know the difference between living and working in a high risk neighborhood and someone who has no idea.

Until you can tell me that you have worked with street kids that think their best defense is to kill rather than get killed.....and you have lived in a suburb where it's local schools has the same metal detectors that you would experience in a high security international airport, I would suggest that you have lived safely and securely in Australia.......and know no better.

And that is exactly the kind of environment we all deserve to live in.

 

Jim Jefferies says it all as far as I am concerned.

Just Google 'Jim Jefferies Gun Control'

 

Overall you're right of course. I've always generally thought Aussies were closer to Canadians than Americans. I've often seen the US as a huge military machine and to some degree that culture perhaps filters through to a lot of other elements of the US society. This is just a crappy armchair analysis of course, there's no denying that it's a privilege to be born down under.

What made me think about this recently was visiting the Canberra War Memorial a few weeks ago. There's some elements in Australia's military history around our eagerness to get into a fight that aren't so different. There are of course differences as well, but the memorial was fairly confronting in a lot of ways.

I guess I can just see that if Australia had a larger population with the socio economic challenges this creates, had we fought for independence rather than negotiated it, if our colonial origins were of more countries trying to influence the outcome, we could be a very different place.


For what it's worth, I'm not certain that Australia's gun laws could work very well in the US or even many other countries. It would likely take generations to implement successfully, the approach would need to be an incremental one, not the sweeping changes of 1996.

 

Damn right; imagine totin' this baby!

 

The thing about the USA folks' mentality about guns - that I observed - is that almost no-one talks about them; at least - the folks that we crossed psaths with over there..

It seems to be the redneck dudes of the South, the framers and a few other odd-balls who are the noisy ones who keep the whole dumb mindset going and thwart any attempts at sensible change.

Yer average folk in the street and down at the Mall or the beach etc - never heard anything from them.

 

I'm 33 years old, not once in all that time would I have been better off in life if I was carrying a gun at the time. Sure, perhaps there were times when I felt a little insecure and would have possibly felt safer if I'd had one, but in retrospective every single time would have turned out the same or worse if I was carrying a gun, never better.