“Just another day in the United States of America. Another day of gunfire, panic and fear.” Those were BBC’s James Cook’s words in the aftermath of the San Bernardino terrorist attack. They were immediately picked-up and repeated by America’s assault media, indulging in immediate gun shaming. The underlying assumption: America should be more like “gun free” UK. Or, better yet (and as our President would prefer), Australia. In the aftermath of the aftermath, the BBC addresses that question directly: Are Australia’s gun laws the solution for the US? Skipping all the usual horrifying (horrifying I tell you!) stats, the “simple” answer is . . .
. . . probably not.
Although Australia does have a long history of hunting and sport, there is no equivalent to America’s Second Amendment right to bear arms here.
Another significant difference is the speed of government action. In 1996 John Howard managed to get all six Australian states to agree to and pass uniform sweeping gun control legislation in just 12 days.
It is hard to fathom the US government ever being able to get all 50 states to agree to something, let alone act that quickly.
So we can file this one at itaintgonnahappen.com. We done here? Don’t be silly! Auntie Beeb can’t leave it at that!
But according to Prof Alpers, the bigger difference is the cultural mindset.
“I don’t for a moment think it would happen in the US,” he says. “Australia already had a pre-disposition to doing something about it.”
He explains that although by far the deadliest, the Port Arthur shooting was not the first Australia had experienced.
He says the country had lost nearly 150 people in the years running up to 1996 in mass shootings, and the national mood was changing.
“Port Arthur was the straw that broke the camel’s back. You have to go back to those years to remember how visceral that backlash was.”
Mr Fischer is more optimistic. He believes meaningful change could come to the US, but only when a “silent majority” are “sprung into action”.
“Of course all mass shootings are a bridge too far,” he says. “But there is going to be one that really tips the balance. Watch this space.”
So “the silent majority” favor gun control? I don’t think so. As for the idea that a mass shooting will lead to gun confiscation, I think the good professor missed the fact that gun sales have gone ballistic after the San Bernardino slaughter. Facts. Who needs ’em?
It won’t work here-LOT’S of us will shoot back…sad photo.
The Australian gun confiscation effort was a carefully orchestrated power grab by the government and the Australian media. Yes, it had been building for years.
I feel for my Australian brothers. Their leaders betrayed them and their media view them as stupid sheep to be manipulated.
If Australia had new media in 1996, as we have today in the U.S., it could well have been stopped.
I feel for our conservative Australian bros.,I hope the rest of them get eaten by great whites or bitten by the dreaded Sydney funnel web spider,KRIKEY MATE!!!!!
Sorry to break this to you but Australian conservatives are also gung-ho for gun control as their opponents in the Left.
It should also be noted that the gun laws that were introduced in Australia back in 1996 and 2002/2003 were introduced under conservative governments. The Prime Minister at the time of both the Port Arthur massacre of 1996 and the Monash University shootings in 2002 was (and still is) a hard-core hoplophobe as well as hard-core Anglophile and monarchist who believes that private, legal civilian gun ownership in Australia is an American cultural “disease” and that only the police, the military, and the security services should have access to firearms.
The only people in Australia that are against these bans and want to see the kinds of firearms that were banned from legal ownership back in 1996 and 2002/2003 re-legalised are the libertarians.
Conservative Australians are equally (if not more) hoplophobic and gung-ho for gun control than the socialists they fight against. In fact, both the conservative and socialist sides of Australian politics are very bi-partisan in maintaining the existing bans on certain firearms as well as all for more draconian bans on firearms.
The only faction that’s against the current bans on certain firearms and are against more bans are those who identify with the libertarians e.g. the supporters of the Liberal Democratic Party.
Not yet? Try never. Way to many of us would never go for it.
If America is so scary, why does the rest of the world try to take up residence here by hook or by crook?
And if Aussies and Brits are so enlightened, why do they still kiss an old lady’s royal ass?
there is no need for your anti UK stupidity, all in all I think we are probably better off in terms of a Head of State than you are, you sure can pick em chump
The fact still remains you brits still live in a slave state beholden to the state for everything including your personal security. And Ralph is correct in that you do kiss her ass as well as the rest of the “Royal” family who are some of the most useless POS on the planet. I would wager that nobody on this forum voted for the current president. In the meantime, Murray, we can defend ourselves and our loved ones, while you can go suck on the “queens” ass and beg for her protection, chump.
Not that it matters, but I consider Prince William to be a pretty solid guy. Instead of taking the free Royal ride, he went active duty and refused to be excluded from combat missions.
That was Harry not William… William’s a fancy pants pretty boy. Harry’s …. rough around the edges.
William was a SAR pilot. Harry was an Apache gunner.
“I would wager that nobody on this forum voted for the current president.”
I think you’d lose that bet. Given the way they were talking about him a few years ago, I’m pretty sure that Farago and Leghorn both voted for him, at least the first time around.
I’ve always wondered why everything in Britain is either royal or HRH this,that,or the other,I wonder if when the queen takes a dump,is it considered a royal shit?
Ah, the once great British empire’s citizens still thinking they are superior…it must suck to be a second rate country.
Point taken Anaxis and I might include Diana in that. The rest are still a waste of human flesh. My wife works with brit expats and to a man they are arrogant, condescending and believe they are superior to and more civilized than us common Americans.
Juvenile comment, you tell me when China has overtaken you lol. Shouldnt have to explain this but its the natural order of things and not something Brits worry about, if you knew more about the country that yours sprang from you would know that. In personal terms my 22 year career has taken me thro Ireland, Bosnia, Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan, some easy and some messy tours, enjoyed them all but now too old, eg. the natural order of things, as for chump I am not expected to and will not kiss anyones arse, I have defended myself thro 2 attempted armed mugging, I shoot, I admire the integrity of the Royal family, well most of them anyway and dont pretend to be an expert on America, you might have the decency and integrity to afford me and the UK the same respect.
Oh, come on…we like the Brits, and all the UK…when push comes to shove, they are our mates. What is not admirable is the what socially the UK has become, a giant welfare/social services/public employee mess, not sustainable. Unfortunately, the USA is quickly headed down the same path.
They used to rule the entire planet,now that can’t even control the tiny island they call home.I predict there will be a muslim king of Britainistan is less than 20 years.
*Subjects NOT Citizens.
The royal family (AKA the Kardashians of the UK).
The whole my leader is better that your leader thing is just silly. 90% of western countries are at war with their peasant class. We are all equally screwed.
Except you didn’t “pick her” did you subject? Now smile for the CCTV’s and enjoy your police state. I do like your TV though, that Black Adder was a hoot!
Prince Harry is a good guy,I think he is Henry VIII reincarnated,he should “dispose” of his brother,become king and take back all of his royal power,then he could rebuild the empire.He could also organize another crusade against islam.
Only a faggot gets on his knees before a queen.
In their respective current states of invasiveness, Monarchy is far preferable to Democracy for the majority of people. It was not always that way, but by mechanisms analogous to those described by Hyman Minsky, it now most certainly is.
Monarchy < Democracy < Republic
A person or family born into power, honestly, cannot be better than having the power amongst the people.
Contrary to what our stupid citizens have been taught,the US is not a democracy,it is a constitutional federal republic.
Regarding our system of government, it may be a Republic, but it functions much more like an oligarchy.
“Monarchy < Democracy < Republic
A person or family born into power, honestly, cannot be better than having the power amongst the people."
Democracy worked (at least sort of) back then, because it delegitimized the reigning authority of the time, the royals and nobles. IOW, it underscored that those ruling, had no inherent legitimacy to do so. As long as that held true, Democracy served it's purpose.
But as soon as the new ruling class; politicians, lawyers, lobbyists and those in that "court"; succeeded in indoctrinating people into believing that them ruling were somehow more legitimate, because of all manners of "the people" nonsense; we were right back to square one again.
It's not really of any significance whether rulers become so by birth, election, divine intervention or lottery, as long as whatever the particular mechanism was, is not accepted as anything but a power grab by the populace. That's the only way populations retain a properly healthy skepticism regarding those aspiring to rule them.
"Contrary to what our stupid citizens have been taught,the US is not a democracy,it is a constitutional federal republic."
In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice……….
Regarding our system of government, it may be a Republic, but it functions much more like an oligarchy.
Yup. That's hat we get for being lazy about kicking the bums out every generation.
I think the brits should spend more time worrying about their snaggled up yellow teeth than obsessing about the freedoms we have and they don’t,we made it clear to them over 200 years ago that we are not interested in their enlightened opinions,if they don’t like the fact that we have a constitutional right to own guns,they’re welcome to come over here and try to disarm us for a 3rd time,I’m sure the result will be the same.As for the aussies,they need to stick to things they know about like bothering wildlife and throwing boomerangs at kangaroos.And just for the record,soccer is not a sport.
Well duh,a typical tribe of monkeys has a better leader than our current president. If you think you’ve insulted us by bashing odumbo,you came to the wrong place.By the way,are you a serf or a troll?
Well….Australia did start as a penal colony…..
Only because the US stopped taking the convicts.
The USA had soldiers of the state for cheap labor.
I think the aussie government should stop buying billions of dollars of military hardware and weapons of war from the US just to show us that they aren’t hypocrites. Yeah,that’s what I thought.The same goes for the UK.
Everyone forgets Australia is a country of about 24 million with the majority of the population living in coastal cities. It’s also approximately the same size as the United States with the majority (92%) being white. Once again they’re comparing apples and oranges.
Let australia have a few million of our inner city thugs for a few years and then they can get back to us on the need for guns.
Sorry, the heritage of us that remember American history when those Minutemen and Militia looked at the oncoming British soldiers On The Green and said.
Enough!
If the .gov gets froggy enough, history will repeat itself. This time it’s 4th Gen Warfare. Different playbook. They are scared. Let’s see how stupid they are.
I dunno if betting on politicians doing the smart thing is a good long-term strategy.
The problem with 4th generation warfare with out stockpile is that it ends with the slaughter people in your town. I want to avoid fighting, but I will fight if we start to lose. And “fighting for our rights” will look a lot like murder until we win. That’s what the American founding fathers were called. Traitors and muderers.
As H. L. Mencken put it “Every normal man must be tempted, at times, to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats.” When we don’t “go for it” or have “had enough” or don’t “give in to registration” we will hoist the black flag, the lone star, the states and bars, But We Will Have to Start Cutting Throats. Familiar ones. And their teenage children. You have to start with your neighbors and friends who don’t share your point of view.
Only then will you be secure to plan your invasion of the next town. It is empire building 101. It is FRIGHTFULLY easier if you have a friendly governor and state police department though. This is where we need to stick the crowbar into and start pulling.
Just think, the only thing that keeps the NFA enforced is a corrupted DPS in your state. If the ATF agents start disappearing or die in mysterious gas leaks or random barrages of gunfire, then either the department of defense must take control of a state and try to hold it (Afghanistan with 100X more people and 10000X more arms) or they have to give up. It takes DPS not responding to fire and 911 calls when said ATF agent meets his justified end. All you need is a governor for that.
That’s why we get “common sense gun reform” or whatever they are calling it this week. It’s not that they think it will do anything- it’s that they hope that it will get us one step closer to their real goal.
Only a sick society can produce these kinds of mass killings. I recently saw a chart showing that from the middle of the 1940’s until the middle of the 1960’s the USA had no mass shootings. In other words the decade we know as the ’50’s was a time of peace, prosperity and stability.
1. No, actually there were. Here’s one of them: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_Unruh
2. The Nazi schtick is real tired on the internet. I suggest you either find something new or gtfo.
A sick society? How about evil individuals? We aren’t the only country with psychopaths and terrorists.
“The world is sick and we are the doctors” crap again? You think people on this board don’t read other blogs? Dude you’ve been Made. Your a liberal trolling as a Nazi in order to make conservatives look bad. Yes, we all know about “deep level trolls”. I don’t know exactly what you and liberal ilk seek to accomplish buy talking trash on message boards though. Sad.
He’s a liberal trolling as a Nazi? Can you link me to some of these other blog posts? Wouldn’t be surprised if its Mikey “felon” Numbers back from the grave.
In other words the decade we know as the ’50’s was a time of peace, prosperity and stability.”
And civil rights abuses, Communist witch-hunts, massive government expansion, and the Korean War (so much for “peace”). Much of that prosperity was bought on credit (personal debt soared during the decade), starting Americans on the now-familiar cycle of crippling personal debt.
The 1950s weren’t all “Ozzie and Harriet” is what I’m getting at here.
I like how they always point to Australia, because it allows them to ignore how Canada (a country culturally more similar the US than Australia), under a similarly anti-gun regime was not able to go as far in confiscation, and even has experienced a rollback of restrictive laws (for now at least). Also, it’s amusing how they overlook New Zealand’s far more reasonable laws in favor of pointing at John Howard’s disgraceful choices.
But when laws were far more lax, where were the massacres? When the hardware stores had surplus rifles sitting in barrels and kids would ride their bicycles to the farmland outside my city with .22s on their backs, where was the epidemic of school shootings and intergang violence? Why was it that back then, even a single murder in my home town would be a stop-the-presses event? Nowadays gangs are battling over the drug supply and shooting each other at restaurant tables and barber’s chairs.
Or the Czech Republic. Oh wait, their laws are almost like ours, and they have one of the lowest crime rates in the world.
Canada never had anything even close to the current state of gun laws in Australia. I mean, they still have access to stuff that’s banned in several US states, and even to some things that are NFA-regulated here.
Saying gun confiscation is easy. Trying to implement it on an unwilling society who is quite passionate about it is another. You have around 319 million people in the US and around 300 million guns.
Just how do they think they are going to get them all? Well they won’t, that’s how. Who do you think is going to have guns if they tried? Criminals. This nation was founded with guns. We defended it, we explored it and we hold onto what’s dear to us with guns and NOBODY, not government, not gangs, not drug cartels, not ISIS or anyone else is going to march in unopposed while we cower down. That’s NOT who we are in this nation of ours.
I’m not a criminal now and while the government may consider me one if they banned guns I believe I would have lots of company. Criminals wouldn’t be the only ones with guns if they had a blanket ban. Look at CT and NY. Its estimated that around 80% of the black rifle owners ignored the law saying they had to register. I figure it would be 90% refusing to comply in most red states if they tried it here. If the government was stupid enough to try a door to door confiscation they would run out of enforcer’s the first day.
If they were able to confiscate all the guns in the US,I would be the Al Capone of guns,I would be richer than bill gates and all those billions I would make would be tax free,I would set up my illegal gun trafficking empire in Al’s hometown just to piss them off.
Sad picture. It’s funny how gun sales are soaring,while the murder rate continues to drop. But then, when have liberals ever used facts.
Never here………period. End of discussion.
Best that brits stay out of america. Go find work in the UK
I believe gun rights is just like abortion, settled law. There shouldn’t be anymore common sense gunlaw proposals period. Discussion is closed. We will not agree to anything further. Not one millimeter of give towards any gun restrictions. Our side has been screwd more than enough.
Look at long long list of what we have lost since 1934. Our side is through with giving up anything. We need to push to have a lot of what was once normal legal gun rights restored.
We should never give up or give in,we need constitutional carry in all 50 states and all territories of the US.
It’s because most Aussies live in the city not in the outback
By most estimates the DoD, DHS, FBI, CIA, State and Local law enforcement agencies have between 3 and 6 million firearms (small arms, pistols/rifles) at their disposal at any given time. This is important because those are the armes that would be required to be used to fire fully and fierce fully disarm the American public.
Conservative estimates show there are 350 Million+ small arms in hands of private citizens. Do the math.
There are more retired combat soldiers than government employees, many of whom have spent the last twenty years playing in the sandbox. The math is entirely on our side.
For those saying, “it will never happen here”, be careful. Many Generals and leaders throughout history have fallen because their enemy did something that they considered “impossible.” The probability of it happening here may be very low, but it is not zero. it requires us to constantly on guard and fighting against it otherwise we too may end up as those other leaders.
Lol, for those saying “it won’t happen here”, it already did, in 1994, lasting through 2004. Despite the fact that we had a “gun loving” republican congress & president during that time. Why didn’t the “freedom loving” republicans immediately end the awb when they had majorities? They had plenty of time to restore our freedoms & chose not to.
The “Silent Majority” were most vocal after Sandy Hook and all that came from that was Connecticut passed some of the strictest laws in the country and New York made the SAFE act that no cop North of White Plains will enforce and no citizen will obey.
The silent majority is also breaking records as far as buying guns and ammo is concerned.
Even if the Democrat Party guts the 2nd Amendment, we have hard precedence that most Americans will not comply. There is not enough police and prisons in America to force compliance, and there is not enough capacity to train police officers to enforce a ban over any period of time. And with many Sheriffs coming forward as against a gun ban, the politicians may not even be able to enforce a gun ban without declaring marshal law. With the US military having laws against following unlawful orders, a culture that is traditionally “red state”, I cannot perceive that these Progressives would be successful at gun confiscation.
And you can bet that one stat the Ausie guv is hiding is the substantial increase in the rate of public corruption, particularly among law enforcement.
When only the government can legally have guns, the line between law and outlaw disappears.
And that is the real reason democrats want the American people disarmed.
This will never happen as long as we’re vigilant. Our 2nd Amendment guarantees our government will not overstep its bounds and take away our other rights. People are complacent when they say “that can nevver happen here.” On the practical side, America has a large population living in a vast area. We have a crime and drug problem in our cities. Guns are not only for protecting us from others, but for hunting or protecting ourselves from dangerous animals. Many Americans live in rural areas where their family, property or crops have to be protected.
I remember the U.S. media in the 90’s getting extremely excited about the possibility of the Australian confiscation happening here. They had the bogus AWB of 1994, Bill Ruger and S&W firearms ready to capitulate, Bill Clinton as president and Hillary lurking in the halls of 1600 Pennsylvania. As TTAG published a few months ago, they even had a plan for draconian gun control in the works. Then the human humidor happened and those plans were derailed. We must maintain eternal vigilance, because luck may not be on our side in the future.
150 people killed over 3 years in Australia? Round here we call that 4th of July week in Chicago.
You know the gun-grabbers are desperate when they keep recyling already debunked lies, like gun control worked in the UK.
Its understandable, Politicians there are still lying about it- and I believe the Met in London got caught in an embarrassing scandal cooking the books to cover up how bad the stats are-
here is an excellent monograph written by Dave Kopel, published at Cato. The part about the UK and Australia is halfway down. http://www.cato.org/publications/policy-analysis/costs-consequences-gun-control
The BEEB is becoming certifiable as they double down on Leftwing goals, including gun control, in spite of what every sane person on the ground can plainly see. Criminals dont obey the law. Depriving the law abiding of the means of self-defense only puts them at greater risk from criminals.
Now there are neighborhoods in London that are no-go zones, where the bobbies cant even wear their uniforms in their car, and have to call ahead to get permission to enter. Its been that way for 20 years in the Paris banlieus, but you wont get the BBC to report on that, with context on how gun control works in the real world- the people shot up in Paris on the ground get it, however.
The AWB wasn’t confiscation, and AR’s were still widely available. Lets not forget that after 10 years it wasn’t renewed – even Congress didn’t buy into it, there were no significant reductions in crime directly attributable to it.
Fast forward to today – millions more guns sold and a lot of AR’s. Nobody is buying them to turn them in – half the police and military aren’t going to cooperate with a search and confiscate mission. There aren’t enough to even start, not enough ground search radars, and no way to do the job.
It’s not that we even need to discuss armed resistance. The simple fact is that “they” don’t have the resources and won’t even try.
How are they going to pass a reimbursement plan? 330 million guns at a bargain price of $100 each is $33 billion – and YOU have to pay the bill.
Who is going to vote for that and stake their political career on it?
It’s Not Going To Happen. Those fear mongering over it as if they are powerless pawns of an omnipotent government are just playing the chords and trolling their readers. Time to start facing the facts – it’s all a bluff to see who will react.
We don’t need to do anything. “They” can’t.
Yes Tirod, the math is indeed on our side.
However the left is playing the long game of generational indoctrination therefore we need to keep up the good fight.
The matter wont be settled until there are so many private guns and gun owners that merely mentioning gun control is instantaneous career suicide for any politician.
I’d wager that doesn’t even begin to happen until private guns outnumber citizens by a 5 to 1 margin, and the private gun ownership rate being underestimated to 50+%
So keep buying more guns, and keep recruiting more gun owners.
I have a one word response to the Beeb, and their naive moral superiority that leads them to believe they can lecture their betters:
Rotherham.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotherham_child_sexual_exploitation_scandal
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