I’ve been thinking about something and want to check an assumption I have. I only hear directly from other people in the USA, and interract with the global community through memes. How are the gun regulations/laws different from yours in terms of strictness, and do you wish there was more or less where you live?
Not looking for a debate here, discuss cold drinks vs hot drinks instead. Appreciate either answer. ❤️
Edit: Thanks for the answers all. I’m super proud how productive eveyone kept this talk. I figured most of you had very different experiences than I. I’ll share my most recent experience. I don’t have a firearm, but have considered it after being trained enough. When sharing this with “normal” people around town, I had multiple people offer to sell or gift me a gun where the serial number was scratched off and non-traceable. I ofter heard, “oh man, yeah. You need a gun.” I have literally never needed one. The fact that people offer to give me one when I don’t have a liscence or training shows the mindset of the minority here and how much of a problem a few individuals can make to safety within the current system.
Australia here - our change to gun control was well covered by John Oliver some years back but, in short, we had a mass shooting in 1996 (Port Arthur) that resulted in 35 deaths and 23 wounded, that changed Australia’s mindset forever.
Our Prime Minster at the time worked with all states and territories to enact stricter laws on licensing and obtaining firearms. Yes, we’ve had crimes classed as mass shootings (4+ casualties) since, but nothing on the scale of Port Arthur - primarily because the change in laws reclassified semi-automatic weapons, and made them harder to obtain.
Before then, I’d shot guns with my dad - we’d enjoyed target shooting as a moderate hobby. But, aside from that, we had no other good reason to keep firearms, and my dad handed them in during the buyback scheme. We played our part in over a million weapons being handed back and destroyed, and I have no regrets. I’m now raising my child in a society where gun violence is considered rare, and I’m happy with that.
Great summary. It’s definitely been worth it for me and my family too
Some points on what our policies look like today, in the aftermath of Port Arthur.
Owning a gun is still possible, and actually surprisingly easy, if you have a legitimate reason. There are a number of legitimate reasons, including being a hobby target shooter or hunter. Self defence is, of course, not a legitimate reason, since owning a gun actually greatly increases the chance of you or one of your loved ones being killed—far more than the chance of you using that gun successfully in self defence.
The gun most be stored securely when not in use, including ammo being kept separate from the weapon.
Only if you’re a member of an accredited gun club (even then, short arms must be kept under lock and key at the club, unless you’re transporting it to a competition shoot).
The other valid reasons are hunting on Crown land (eg. deer hunting) or a rural property (eg. farmers can obtain them for keeping vermin under control) or for your job (eg. armed security guard). In Victoria, at least. Can’t speak for other states or territories.
I wouldn’t call it “surprisingly” easy to own a gun. It’s easy enough to present a valid reason for a licence under current regs (hunting on Crown land is the easiest), but it’s decidedly less easy to obtain the firearm itself.
I meant “surprisingly” in the context of how famous Australia is for our strict gun control laws. When Americans are always upholding us as either a tyrannical horror where nobody has any freedom because of the lack of guns, or a gun-free utopia where the only thing to be afraid of is the wildlife, it can be surprising to them to learn just how easy it is in practice.
Ah, gotcha. Yeah - absolutely see your point there.
Australia too. Gun licensing is permitted but reason is required. Handguns and non manual/lever action rrifle/shotguns needs a special permit. Those who shoot for sport are fine, those in cities don’t have guns.
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No, not really. Even though there’s been an uptick in gun violence, it’s not the sort of indiscriminate violence that would keep me (as a parent) awake at night. Many of the gun crimes we see are targeted or specific - gang and organised crime, murder suicides, familicides, etc.
Even though those are very troubling, they’re still largely distant from the average Aussie. Unlike, say, in America where there’s now a market for school backpacks with Kevlar inserts.
Gun deaths in Australia are at an all time low over the past 5 years
While the best I can get on mobile is this, all gun violence (including lethal and non-lethal) is also way down on long term trends.