By Dennis DeMartins

It’s on for real. Straight after the furor over the attempted reclassification of lever action shotguns began with Aussie shooters flooding MP’s and the media with calls, emails and letters (with laughably bad media hit pieces in full swing), information has come to light that the entire National Firearms Agreement is up for review, a document that has not been modified at the federal level since 1996. In a letter to Sporting Shooters Australia CEO Tim Bannister, Federal Minister for (in)Justice Michael Keenan confirmed that a full review of the National Firearms Agreement was well underway as a result of the Inquiry into the Sydney Siege . . .

The Australian shooting community had been plagued the last few months by rumours of Prime Minister Tony Abbott continuing John Howard’s gun grab agenda; this letter confirms those rumours. But wait, it gets better.

Flying under the radar, but hidden in plain sight is the report from the Australian Attorney-General’s department, headed by George Brandis – the same guy who has passed an internet filter, data retention, citizenship revocation and is attempting to pass obscene civil forfeiture laws. The same guy that the Australian left scream incessantly about being fascist, but also want to assist by calling for more gun control.

The “AG’s report into the ability of Australian law enforcement authorities to eliminate gun-related violence in the community,” which came in response to the findings of the Senate Inquiry earlier this year, outlines the agenda and, as usual with Australian gun grabbing, it’s fantastic reading. The report recommends the following changes:

  • “Address State differences in ‘different lengths of licences and different requirements that need to be met to own and possess Category D firearms.’
  • Address inconsistencies “in areas not covered by the NFA, such as in relation to firearm parts, accessories, magazines and firearm dealers.”
  • “the accountability of deactivation standards and agreed firearm descriptors.”
  • “take into account the changes in technology and the legal firearms market that have occurred since 1996.”
  • “regulation of magazines, firearm parts and accessories”
  • “principles for dealing with interstate transactions, particularly dealers operating in more than one State or Territory”
  • “the classification of new technology with regards to:

– ballistic performance (noting that this can have as much to do with the ammunition as the firearm)

– rate of fire (including magazine capacity); and appearance”

  • “more explicit guidance on the NFA’s genuine reasons for owning, possessing or using a firearm (the genuine reasons), and
  • “technological changes with respect to the issuing of licences and permits to acquire.”
  • “There is no basis to recommend any update of the remaining elements of the NFA to expand the list of genuine reasons or changing the requirements for licensing.”

And the punchline: “the recommended changes will be developed WITHOUT CONSULTATION and in closed session by the Firearm and Weapons Policy Working Group (FWPWG), chaired by the Attorney General’s Department”

Translated: Because a guy in Sydney who already had a charge sheet as long as your arm who we let out on bail for attempted murder; who also got an illegal shotgun without a license and held up a café where two people died, (one of them thanks to incompetent police marksmanship) we think it’s logical and reasonable to punish every single gun owner in the country who had nothing to do with it, just like 1996. Even though those same laws we brought didn’t prevent this or the eight other massacres since 1996, despite years of boasting to America.

And hey, we’ll say this gun looks scary so we need to ban it, like we did in Western Australia with pistol grip stocks and the Savage. Or it “fires too fast” in a demo video, even though it’s 128 year old technology and a Police Commissioner thinks so (even though that Police Commissioner can’t correctly identify said rifle). And that you don’t need more than one shot for hunting. Because Roland Browne said so.

So yeh, we won’t be asking you guys for your input, although we’ll bs and say we are consulting just to give you the appearance of appeasement. And if you push back enough we’ll trot out the terrorism, public safety and fear cards because we know the Australian public are ignorant, and hell we’ll get the media to even throw in a distraction or two when it comes to vote. ISIS threat of attack? The Dress? Bruce Jenner?

And that is just the beginning:

Leaked police documents this week revealed that the Calabrian Mafia, who has long had a foothold in Australia, have been buying firearms off of the Australian Army.  This comes as no surprise given their past history and Australian police’s record of doing exactly the same thing. The Army is also about sign off on a purchase of 30,000 EF88 Austeyr rifles. We wonder just how many of those will end up on the streets. Or indeed, stolen from their armouries as has happened over and over again.

This aside, the emotional reflex headline of the week was that of a Victorian Policeman who was shot in the head (and survived) while attempting to pull over a vehicle in Melbourne. Although the gunman and firearm remain on the loose, the media amazingly knew it was a 12 gauge shotgun before a ballistics investigation had been conducted, even though ABC News swore it was a flintlock pistol-shotgun (yes, that report is actually real).

There has been a notably increasing number of anti-gun stories in the Australian media in the last six weeks. Couple this with the above revelations, and it’s not hard to see why: Australia is being neurolinguistically prepared for a sales pitch for another gun grab.

The most interesting thing to note in the Australian media is that every time there is a story around firearms, both “sides” of the media (Fairfax and the ABC on the left and Murdoch on the right) come out in a full court press against anything remotely positive about firearms. Notice how Murdoch isn’t so brave with this in the USA?

His latest effort was a futile attempt to pick a fight with the NRA (also a favourite acronym used in Australia to try and shut down firearms debate) after their questioning of Australia’s known gun law failures. Murdoch was only outdone by this laughably bad effort from Fairfax “firearms expert” Nick O’Malley. O’Malley made sure that he used as much emotive reference to Port Arthur as possible, while leaving out the six hour police response time and fact that Bryant got his gun illegally and without a license, as well as quoting Australia’s favourite nanny statist Simon Chapman, whose only ‘retort’ to the fact that homicides were going well down since the 80’s was that the buyback tenuously accelerated this a’ whopping’ 4%. Only to be let down that the AIC announced last week that arson homicides in Australia have jumped 44% in the last decade and that the homicide rate in the Northern Territory is five times the national average. But don’t tell Simon that as he’ll get upset and play the public health card, like he usually does on Twitter, with fellow grabber Bernard Keane.

O’Malley also kind of forgets that it was his own paper that broke the story that the buyback was useless in slowing the murder rate, 9 years ago. But hey, there’s a narrative to sell. O’Malley was almost trumped by this late effort from the Daily Telegraph, who announced Colt are apparently issuing 1911’s in full auto and that antique replica .22 SMLE’s are considered “sniper” rifles.

After all, when recently:

an 88 year old is bashed senseless
three men carjack another man at gunpoint
A report showed that Domestic Violence Orders had been breached 26,000 times in the last twelve months
a man gets stabbed to death
another man has his throat cut in a hotel room
a 10 year old attempts a hold up with a cap gun
a Queensland police officer lost his handgun and found it after it had been used in a robbery
a teen was abducted and bludgeoned to death
the coach of the Adelaide Crows is stabbed to death in his home
sex offenders running rampant

it’s getting hard out here for a journalist to sell another buyback.

#96neveragain

 

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68 COMMENTS

    • You’re assuming that the intent is to do something about crime based on logic, observation, and fact.

      • I don’t think he’s talking about the Australian government and media, he’s talking about their subjects. THEY should have learned from last time.

    • I think the only time a politician might – might – learn is when they lose an election.

      Certainly nothing much else seems to matter to them most of the time.

      • They don’t learn even then. They just think “those plebes just don’t know what’s best for them!”

        • I wonder if Aussies are starting to realize that being a plebe isn’t too far removed from becoming a zek.

  4. Everytime I get the urge to visit Australia…. I think, nahhhh. New Zealand will be a better place to visit, less crime, and it ‘s actually a prettier place.

    • Unfortunately as Australia has no bill of rights gun ownership is a privilege and not a right. We have no national lobby group like the NRA, the closest we have is the Sporting Shooters Association of Australia [SSAA], yes it lobbies but it doesn’t have the teeth that the NRA does, nor does it have the legal backing that the US Bill Of Rights provides. There are other groups here in Australia and on social media you read a lot of disaffected ex SSAA members complaining that they should be more NRA like, we also read that people are unhappy to pay their annual membership and not receive what they think they should be. Many of these people have formed break away groups ignoring the fact that by breaking up we the shooters of Australia lose our lobbying power.

  6. Australia has become the New Jersey of the Southern hemisphere. All it needs is a few Crips, Bloods and Latin Kings, and it’s there.

  7. I could go on for a while about how sad this is for Australia, and the difference between subjects and citizens, but I bet just about everyone is already thinking that.

    I did want to point out that if you follow the link about incompetent police marksmanship, you will read that she was struck by bullet fragments, or ricochet. This does not make it any less of a tragedy, but I think it’s less incompetent than the Dorner pickup truck shooting, or the 2012 Empire State Building shooting.

  11. I think all Australians ought to turn in their firearms. Then, when the ‘roos, rabbits and dingos overwhelm Melbourne and Sydney and the entire ag sector collapses, we’ll see what the politicians have to say about guns.

    • Spot on. But our Ag sector is already under attack. 14 million feral cats have destroyed our native species. Pigs everywhere ruining the land. And the feral dog and fox problem is obscene, costs our farmers millions a year in lost livestock.

      Hilariously sad how the Greenies here are just making things worse. Fkn hypocrites.

  12. I have met an English woman who knew about the California gold rush in great detail. I was surprised just how much American history she had read.

    I’m sure the former English mother country and the former Australia colony are wondering how the former American colony got a second amendment and they did not.

    • The US provided a road map for casting off colonial rule nearly 250 years ago. I don’t think anyone else has actually followed it though. At least not to the Constitution stage, it always goes south once the war hero elects himself god emperor. Every year fascism and socialism in the world grows and just adds more proof to the fact that the American miracle was an actual miracle that the rest of the world will never allow to happen again.

      • We had moral leaders back then. The mistake today people make is they apply 21st moral standards to 17th century people. We would not have the greatest nation on earth if it was not for the founding fathers.

  14. Amazing post. This is why I keep coming to this website. Australia may not recognize the right to bear arms, but that doesn’t mean Australians lack a right to bear arms. Give ’em Hell Aussie friends, you have my support.

    • Do they have a freaking constitution down under or some kind of modified crap English document ? Former subjects of an impotent Queen who have not found a way to get out from under her skirts. IF they have a document similar to our Constitution they need to get off their dead asses and get an amendment like our 2nd. If not then they need to rebel and throw the Libtards out of office ASAP. Come on Aussie friends, I just know you have more balls than it looks like from over here in the USA. At least I hope you do. If not then your country is doomed to serfdom.

      • They couldn’t legislate our right to self defense away, so they legislated the means away. After firearms, you cannot even carry pepper spray, mace, tasers, knives, etc anything for self defense. In some states it gets you arrested. We’re a nanny state.

      • I suspect it’s about twenty years too late for a revolution Down Under. The nanny staters have taken too much power and brainwashed the bulk of the population already.

        • Rocks and glass houses comes to mind after reading your comment.
          In America WE are not too far from being subjects, and in some cases the description of a subject is just citizen spelled differently.
          This article is the Doppelganger twin of the statist movement currently in America.
          An example of the similarities:

          “So yeh, we won’t be asking you guys for your input, although we’ll bs and say we are consulting just to give you the appearance of appeasement. And if you push back enough we’ll trot out the terrorism, public safety and fear cards because we know the Australian public are ignorant, and hell we’ll get the media to even throw in a distraction or two when it comes to vote. ISIS threat of attack? The Dress? Bruce Jenner?”

          “The nanny staters have taken too much power and brainwashed the bulk of the population already.”
          The Southern Cross and historical Civil War monuments being eradicated out of emotion are proof that this has been imported to America. Next it will be the Stars and Stripes because it offends an immigrant or an American Indian.

        • I didn’t mean it as an attack. America is in very nearly the same situation, with the relentless growth of government and the ongoing shift from a rural conservative to an urban liberal population. The only real difference (and this is where my “twenty years too late” comment was directed) is that in America, we’re still quite well-armed, so a revolution might have a chance of success. In places like Australia, where guns are severely restricted and tracked, it’s that much harder to water the tree of liberty, if you get the reference.

          In either case, I don’t see it happening. Western societies, by and large, seem to be too comfortable to revolt.

  15. So, lads, what’s the plan? Just hold out and see if you can take it up the ass even farther, like that poor British bastard from earlier today? Like he said of England “only 1% of the population are gunowners” so there’s no way in hell your political systems will be of any use, and it sounds like your press has also betrayed you along with your courts. It sounds like morality Down Under is not even on your side, as there is no tradition of individual rights (just self-actualization in the face of tyranny) to fall back on.

    I suppose it won’t be too bad in a few years, when web filtering has completely shut you all off from the shining examples of freedom left in the world, and nothing to remind you of what has been lost. A long, slow, slide into despotism…ever faster.

    • The jokes’ on the politicians. All the legislation did was make it easier to buy an illegal firearm than a legal one. You can get your hands on an illegal one here in about 10 minutes in Melbourne, Sydney or Brisbane.

      • But that’s just playing right into their hands; as soon as you become an outlaw, your rights, protections, and standing no long apply. They can do literally anything they want to you if you do anything to become noticed, and no one will stand against it. Probably not even your attorney. However, a law-abiding man cannot be ruled thusly, there would be moral outrage. It is clear the intention is to turn Australia back into a prison colony, where citizens are presumed guilty by virtue of being born.

        • Agree 100%. The point I guess I was trying to make was that there’s millions of guns here literally that they know nothing about. The buyback compliance rate in 1996 was only 19% and that was mainly bolt action rifles that were handed in. A trip to the outback will see many SLR’s and AK’s around.

          In a worst case scenario police state, I think they’ll be surprised how many people here are carrying.

          Penal colony? We’ve always been, nothing has really changed. The mentality of most fellow Aussies here is “mummy and daddy government know best”. Although I will end on a positive note and say the concept of freedom is starting to really take hold here in the light of all the draconian bs laws they’re passing. We shall see.

    • California gun ownership is around 22%, or 8.5 million. California’s voter turnout for 2014 was 24%. They could get rid of all their BS laws within an election cycle if they all voted. I’m of course assuming the elections and political system here aren’t rigged, naive young millennial that I am.

      Basically, if Cali can’t do it with 1 in 5 people owning a gun, there is no chance at all of the Queen’s subjects getting their rights back. Prove me wrong Britain and Australia.

  17. Considering they still bow their unworthy heads to the Queen of England, this is about what I expect from Australia.

    And people wonder why I laugh whenever western civilization is referred to as the “free world.” Sorry cobbers, only one nation in the world can be considered free, and even then only about half of it.

    I talk with an Australian friend a lot and he loves guns, hates his country’s gun laws, but then sporadically supports hamfisted government intervention in pretty much everything. It’s a mindset.

    • You have this thing called “civil asset forfeiture” (which exists in all states), and you think you can call yourself free? LOL.

      At best, US is more free than most. Even then that’s only true on some counts (like e.g. guns and speech).

  18. I that God that I live in America where
    “I will not comply!”
    still resonates with we the People.

    You Aussies carry on there. You have been subjects for a very long time
    and you must be pretty comfortable obeying your betters.

  19. Douche. Australian for gun grabba.

    I was always under the impression growing up that all Aussies were cool. Who knew so many of their population acquired a taste for .gov phallus.

  20. Bans don’t work. Either they will get firearms back one day or communism will become the new order.

  21. I took Australia off my places to visit list long ago. They are not the same people they were 60-70 years ago. Their citizens have become much like their main agricultural export. Their statists and leftists are more vile in some cases than our own. The average Aussie does`nt understand that a precedent was set when their government forced the sale of banned guns.As a result Australia no longer has property rights. The government can now force you to sell your property at any time for any reason. Wait until enough green types get power. Then people with ranches farms or just a home on some acreage deemed environmentally sensitive. Given the mentality of the average Aussie, they could be just one or two elections away from a authoritarian state.

    • Australia as a nation is founded on the transgression of property rights. Blacks owned the land, but as has since been the rule of law in Australia, property was defined by the group with the most ordnance.

  22. The left is not our only problem. Right wing Big Money supports the gun crowd ONLY because it is a cheap way to get votes. Both parties are bought and Big Money is behind it. Think about that: Big Money is using the power of money to rape the bottom 2/3. If we need to use our guns against government it is likely that we will be directing our fire upon those who are currently supporting our 2A rights. The right is not your F’ing friend unless you can afford to write them a really big check. Ironic that support there is so shakey, and it is the left most likely to actually need the firepower. Explains Murdoch’s stance down under, the subjects must be controlled, lest they request a share of the wealth.

    • What I find really hilarious (or sad, depending on your perspective) is how the more extreme right-wingers are eagerly lining up behind Trump, who’s so blatantly trolling them and is clearly there to disrupt the GOP primaries (and possibly the final race, if he makes good on his threat to run as independent).

  23. Australia must be trying to “Out-California” California.

    They really should start issue licenses to illegals, perhaps building a supertrain between two towns where nobody lives, and diverting 20% of their water to some fish.

    …if they could do that, maybe my state could annex them, or they us, and we could all dance down liberal bankruptcy together in 3/4 time.

  24. My rifle is staying with me. I don’t care if I have to ride a canoe across the Pacific, I will remain armed.

    • Remember what you’ve said here mate, and know that you’re not alone. Australian citizens need to remember that we are the ones with the power, not the government. They are here to SERVE us, not rule over us like tyrants. I don’t give a shit what that wingnut in Canberra thinks, he’s not better than me and he has no right to do this. Neither does the AG.

  25. Whilst I agree that Australia has some bad laws when it comes to guns (A to what ever categories for example), as an Australian who has lived in the UK and now is a US resident, and gun owner, I am still shocked by the frequency of shootings in my city, and it makes me think about civilization each time a friend says they have a gun in their car to do grocery shopping.

    I have worked in the gun industry and am an ex Australian police officer, and while I now think how far things may (but probably won’t go in Australia) is bad in many respects, I have to say that Australians are citizens, royalty has a role in ceremony only (which I and most do not like), and at some point Australia will be a republic (something I voted for).

    It is wrong to state Australians do not have 1.A constitution. In fact it is very much like the American one, and does have property rights (the constitution used the US one as a model), and whilst I totally agree with a Bill of Rights, people should read what the High Court has to say on the subject. They say it would insult the Australian belief in freedom to quantify rights, as due to tradition, and also expressed in legislation, Australians have more rights and freedoms than most countries. Australia helped draft international human rights and has been one of the most active nations in those areas since the League of Nations. Those international rights are a part of all domestic law.

    As an Australian law graduate I can certainly attest to that. The issue at hand is not rights, as Australians would state in the main that people, especially unwell people, running around willy nilly with guns detracts from the rights of those who wish security and peace to enjoy a safe community (an international and domestic right both in Australia and the US).

    The issue on gun is where is the middle ground? Safety v gun rights (remembering we are talking gun rights, not rights in general). Australia is lucky due to its isolation, and the ability to examine what other countries have done and are doing, and to go their own way. The other legislation discussed, such as internet sensoring, while I disagree with it, you can see the purpose. Kids have free access to The Net, and the law tries to deal with terrorism, child pornography and death sex and other very extreme illegal activities that all societies are trying to cope with.

    Realistically there are very few sites banned and most are illegal to use in The States anyway. Anyone who would advocate for them should not possess the right to bear arms. So, nutters will always ruin it for all by taking a gun, thinking it is a sexual item of power, and shooting and killing innocent people. There is not a lot more serious in a modern society. So, protest, get involved, and fight your corner with logic.

    • >> They say it would insult the Australian belief in freedom to quantify rights, as due to tradition, and also expressed in legislation, Australians have more rights and freedoms than most countries.

      It’s all very convenient to say while the govt infringes on those unquantified rights left and right (and I’m not just talking about guns here), all with a lot of cheering from the populace.

      Guys, you have one of the most prudish porn and violence laws in the entire First World. That’s nothing to be proud of. The fact that it’s all “constitutional” just adds insult to injury.

  26. int19h,

    Personally I don’t agree with sensorship, but without some form of sensorship for the benefit of society, nutcases on social media will continue to terrorize their victims etc. Society has to have a rational basis to it, and simply saying we are all free to do as we please is great for most of us, but the DUI drivers will kill us! Sadly, until society can control those who ruin the world for us, due to mental or moral issues, the safety of society has to be the goal. I was an officer back in Australia in the lead up to the 1996 laws, and in fact I attended Hoddle Street as a probationary officer, and the first autopsy I saw was a woman who gave up hope in the world and blew her head all over a bedroom. In our state in the US, the police struggle to tackle DUI, and the stats are many times those in Australia. Regardless of what is said here, as a rule, Australians feel safe walking around and the police are, as a rule, very good by world standards. I had to draw my weapon several times as an officer, but very few Australians are shot by police. I never feel I am restricted in anyway in Australia from stating what I like, where I like. Some states have Bill of Rights, or Charter of Rights, and some have enacted the International Convention on Human Rights. That is again where this discussion is been going the wrong way. In fact, Australia has around 20 different pieces of legislation that can be considered at an International level to be Bills of Rights. Also, please note in relation to firearms legislation, the preamble to such legislation states that it is not the purpose of any Australian firearms legislation to in anyway take away the right to enjoy recreational shooting. That, by law, is a right, and by interpretation is a right all Australians enjoy. That is the way in which courts would determine any case, as they look at legislative intent. Never forget Australians fought for freedoms in far off lands since colonial times. Talk to normal Australians, outside of the firearms debate. They would stand and fight police (and do) if freedom was taken away. I can name 4 Governments in Australia that lost elections over legislation designed to restrict freedom, even though it was for a good purpose, such as to deal with organized crime. I detest what has gone on in Queensland, my home state, with bikies, but on the other hand, as someone who was a cop I know the bikies were and are Australia’s version of the gangs seen in The States. I can name 100 laws Stateside that restrict personal freedom, and many of which have been upheld by the Supreme Court. Thus, no society is perfect, and we can only hope that good citizens make decisions that make society progress. So, please, as an American Australian, go and enjoy my homeland, as you will find it is different to home, but much is the same. Finally, read the recent Senatorial review into the firearms agreement! The Senate stood up to interest groups such as the Greens, and actually the police agreed with the Senate, in that the right to own guns and shoot should remain a fundamental freedom for responsible citizens. A review, which has been done many times, is not going to change much at all, other than look at how to stop criminals. I get as worried as anyone, as I own guns and we may retire to Australia. Saying that, God Bless America, and God Bless her young cousin Australia. Two bastions of freedom in the world. Also, please note my fellow Americans – AUSTRALIA IS NOT BLOODY POMMY LAND! Take it from me, Britain is very very different from Australia, and they are two different societies these days. Australia, legally through the open trade agreement etc., and recent history, has more in common with America and Canada than Britain. In fact, Canada is more like the UK in many way.

    • >> Personally I don’t agree with sensorship, but without some form of sensorship for the benefit of society, nutcases on social media will continue to terrorize their victims etc.

      It’s “censorship”.

      As for the nutcases on social media, there is a very simple way of dealing with them: just don’t read them. If they come to your blog or social network, block and/or mute them.

      The problem with censorship – any censorship – is that the moment you elect to do it, the question becomes, who decides what is “dangerous” and “terrorizing”? The temptation to simply declare anything you don’t like that becomes too strong over time.

      • I do share the gist of your beliefs, but when you deal or have dealt with children who have committed suicide due to social media, or a man who was innocent of the accusation of being a child molester but was almost burnt to death, not all are rational in life, and thus we have law. The law is not perfect, and those of us who have enforced it, are not either. But I took an oath to do what I could by my fellow citizens and have spent a life doing so. I am personally responsible for some Australian gun legislation. It came about when I stopped a man after a vehicle pursuit, when he was on the way to kill three generations of his family at BBQ. I stood between him and children playing in the street when he decided that they were his next best target. He did not survive, and I did. I carry his death through my life. The result was legislation on one state that stopped black powder pistols being owned without a license to ensure that a person was mentally stable. It saved lives. Thus, I was responsible for restricting freedom! I think we have our own issues Stateside. We hand out guns like confetti, in a country without decent psychiatric care and joined up medical thinking. It is hard to dictate to a society that is doing what it can to protect its citizens, when we do not have the decency to protect our own through common sense. I am not saying license, but I am saying, protect our children and helpless by at least checks and proper psychiatric care. Lets sort our major problems before attacking a country that has a very good track record of protecting its citizens, fighting alongside us for freedom, and making sure all its citizens have low cost education and health care (to the same standard as the US, or sadly, far superior education to 18). Lets all do something for our community, as is not America about community and neighbor? I hope I never loose those values and the belief in the majority of my fellow human beings.

        • >> I think we have our own issues Stateside. We hand out guns like confetti, in a country without decent psychiatric care and joined up medical thinking.

          As a liberal (well, left libertarian, but most people have no idea what this even means, so I oversimplify), I agree that this is a problem. But surely the solution is better psychiatric care, and more economic solutions to poverty, class stratification, lack of social mobility etc that breed crime, rather than trying to deal with the symptoms?

          As you note yourself, Australia eventually had to extend its gun regulations to the point of banning black powder guns. Next time some crazy will use a repeater crossbow or something like that. Or, you know, just make a black powder gun for himself – it’s not like it’s hard, and all components are readily available. Banning the means is a never-ending race to the bottom. If you want to solve the problem, fix the root cause.

          • We actually agree. I am a middle of the road political person, and agree with what you are saying. I do think there is a misconception about the laws in Australia though. Very few guns are banned. Restricted to those who have a need or desire for them, yes. All BB guns, non auto or semi rifles, leaver shotguns, 3 round shot guns and alike, and my Winchester (although I live Stateside), are all legal on a basic license anyone who has no criminal history or heavy psychological history can get. It takes a form, a test on gun safety (tick the box), and a wait period. Slowly, the purchase of additional rifles or shotguns there you need a permit to purchase, has become easier and easier or will come easier. Again, a form and time in some states, but in others, very fast. So, for example, my Winchester, my husband’s sniper rifle, and our bolt military rifle are all legal and simple to license.

            Next you have semi-auto guns. For this you need a genuine need and or reason. Not really that difficult in a lot of states. In fact, I had one. I also do cowboy 3 gun and had no issues.

            Next you have current military rifles. Due to a court ruling, those in genuine need can now apply for these (such as say an M4). In fact, in Queensland a lot of hunters have been buying them from what I am told. You will find them on display in gun shops etc. like in our state, Stateside.

            Pistols – Join a club, 6 months where you can use club guns, friends guns etc. and then hay presto, a license to purchase. Mag limit like in Canada, and one only in your next six months. After this, no issue, permit to purchase and go for it. The strange one here is air pistols. They need a pistol license. Stupid really.

            Black powder pistols – Antique – No issue. You can easily get a license. Same for all guns classed antique. Some states do not require a license, some do.

            Other weapons, such as machine guns – Can be purchased with a collectors license, but must be non-operative unless you are an reenactor.

            Primary production – Up to 6 pistols on a primary production license for defense from animals etc. Rifles no real issue and police happy to help with licensing. I rarely visited a farm where there were no rifles.

            Storage – Well, guns are dangerous! They must be stored in a lock room, safe or alike, depending on local state requirements. Maybe an idea, ah! I know people on my gated, security estate in a neighborhood with no recorded serious crime who have a loaded gun on the nightstand! Ummm, no comment really but I do hope their kids do not crawl in a window late at night!

            Australia is about regulation, not banning. Regulation for safety. Has safety been achieved, well I don’t like a lot of what has happened as I am for freedom and I have carried guns for work and had a 24/7 state license for security work, so I think it is to tough considering the lack of crime compared to the US. Sadly though, give a nutter a gun and an innocent person dies. So, what does Australia do? I am always torn by my brain telling me that what they did was sensible but went overboard, but on the other hand, as a responsible citizen of both countries, it scares me as I have a right to my freedom. Saying that, I do not need a gun in Australia for a trip interstate, and feel safe to pull up anywhere. Do I hear Wyoming (I think it was) last week anyone? I agree with solving the root cause, but as we try to do that, what choice do we have but to take protective measures?

            As I said, like everyone here, I would die for freedom and almost did. Every time I see Old Glory all over our city fluttering above a certain chain of gas stations, or help a Vet, or do something for others, I am so proud and grateful to live where I do and be apart of what I am apart of. Australians feel the same about the flag, their values (almost to a t shared with the US), but respect the difference in that Australians, Brits and Canadians have a slightly different version of society. We all share values and are all born of the same parent, but we have grown up within our family and developed our own mindsets. In Australia, it is the right to enjoy life and your freedom without fear. Stateside, it is freedom at the expense of community safety. Ask those who know and dedicate their lives to their fellow citizens. So, lets stop those who should not have guns from having them. Felons, those who commit domestic violence, those who are not mentally fit. God knows, we can do that for or fellow Americans!

            • I’m an Ameran of German decent.
              I remember the history of German gun laws. The Government MUST control who has guns to protect the GOVERNMENT from the Communists and Anarchists. The Volk have nothing to fear from THEIR government. It couldn’t POSSIBLY happen in a state with such an advanced civilized culture.

              It can, and did, happen in such a state with such an advanced civilized culture. In every state where it has happened the elite no doubt considered itself advanced and civilized. They were trying to preserve the high level of civilization that the elite had achieved.

              The lesson that ought to be learned is that NO government can be so trusted; least of all, a government whose designers recognized from the outset how vulnerable it’s citizens would be even under their extraordinary scheme to set up guards for their security.

              Once – like our founders – you invert the power hierarchy and vest sovereignty in the people themselves. then everything changes. Political power emirates from the muzzle of a gun. And, that gun must be secured in the hands of the sovereigns. We have largely seen to that. And today – when we are in a crisis of sovereignty and the separation-of-powers doctrine of our system – we are alert to the threat.

              Fortunately, we have only small vestiges of registration, stocks of powder and shot, and machine tools. And, an inventory of weapons vastly in excess of the number in government arsenals. We are the one people in the history of mankind ready to assert our sovereignty.

              This condition of preparedness can’t be achieved under any scheme of state registration of arms. It probably can’t even be achieved under a scheme of state registration of arms-holders. (Conceivably, in the US it might be achieved where 40%+ of the population might be licensed to arms. However, at any lower percentage, it would be far too dangerous even to license arms-users.)

              • Very very interesting and I cannot disagree about vesting power in the people. We have a lot in common in our beliefs and have the benefit of our society and that of Australia in our thoughts and words. As someone with a degree in history I have to say that what you say is based on a reasonable summation of fact, and well put. I think we, and lets face it, most Americans, Brits, Ozzies and those funny people in the frozen north, as well as that extra state of Australia (New Zealand lol), would agree and only differ where we draw the line on freedom/the good of all (which in itself produces freedom such as safety from random shootings). Let individual freedom reign, and lets somehow make America a better place for all her citizens. God Bless this wonderful land, and God Bless the freedom, and our sense of community. Finally, I go to Germany every year with work and love the place, and the freedom the modern German people practice. They are great people and it is an incredibly beautiful land. The world has so many wonders in its variety. The western world is freedom in all its forms. Last, God Bless the land of my birth, and the land that nurtured and educated me so that I could take on the world. Her belief in freedom, the love given to each and every citizen reminds me of how lucky I was, and are, to call myself Australian, and proudly an American Australian (actually with a third nationality lol, British lol). If you wish to discuss more or debate, contact me via pm or email and I will get back. Stay safe and have a nice weekend.

            • See, the moment you say that semi-auto guns need “genuine need or reason”, you’ve lost your entire American audience (and probably at least 50% of all the guns in circulation here). And then of course you say that it’s still possible to own them, but I have to ask: how many people actually do? And what exactly qualifies as “genuine need”?

              • Not sure of the figures and disagree with the law. Glad I am Stateside lol. The semi-auto ban was political as they were the weapons used in many mass shootings in Australia. They are considering some changes to that sort of thing. How easy? Well, it would not be right to say anything. Those who wish to use them can get them if they go shooting and there is a need. That is what the law says. Numbers? Not sure, but all my relatives have them as they go and do the odd bit of farm shooting and semi auto makes is safer, re-pigs etc.

                Back then I saw a need to license, but not for what happened. I do not disagree with restricting semi-auto. The restrictions are far less than Europe, but still, I disagree with them, and that is as an ex cop who attended mass shootings. That went to far.

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