Guns Control

[clarrisani]

Yesterday I was shocked and appalled when word came out that there had been yet ANOTHER mass murder in America. And, in all places, a movie theatre where children were attending. I watched the video online shot by a bystander who thought he was filming people fleeing a bad movie only to realise there had been a shooting, and the reactions of the

Comments

[curtisziraa]

I need to check your livejournal more often. I don't agree with everything you say (I tend to be more conservative than liberal) but you bring up really good points. That said - I completely agree with gun regulation. Australia's got it right with that. Canada (where I live) also regulates guns, fairly similarly (I think). What is silly sometimes is that politicians talk about banning them entirely, as if that will take them out of criminal's hands when they're already so strictly regulated they're illegal. These are the liberals I see. Look up Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty. The nonsense Ontario has been put through. The gun registry we had and finally ditched did nothing but criminalize the people who really did need guns - those living outside of cities, and those who did it legally for sporting. Everytime, the police would check the registry and then even if it said the owner had no gun, they had to act like the might because criminals don't register their gun. The gun owners that were found were all told to produce the gun or let the police search their car with no warrant, for a legally owned gun. God forbid if the person said no. This is what I see as liberal government. Some publications (SunMedia) compare what they try to oversee as being babysat, like we can't take care of ourselves.

[curtisziraa]

PS I would love to hear some of your own political ideas - you sound incredibly educated and can give decent feedback on both sides of the fence (though you say you're centre-left to my centre-right). I'm terrible at debating in person, as I don't think well on the spot. And I like researched answers, and to be able to research my own answers (cause it's not like I'm completely up-to-date on history, Canadian or otherwise, other than the current events of the last few years. Even then my memory can be pretty foggy if it's been more than a year or two).

[clarrisani]

I've only recently started getting heavily into world politics, and love learning about them for other countries. You're right about me being centre-left, and it would be wonderful to discuss politics with someone who is centre-right who likes to research. Unfortunately in the past I have encountered a lot of right wing people who respond with insults and extremists comments rather than give facts.

The amazing thing about the Australian gun control/regulations is that it was actually our conservative government that introduce it. It was done in response to a massacre, and rather than say "now isn't the time" both sides of the government sat down and worked out what needed to be done.

Of course, there was an outcry at the time from the gun groups, but they eventually recognised that the guns weren't being taken away more than regulated. They can still go to a shooting range, own hunting guns, etc. We are also lucky that the police don't demand to see weapons here, and will only search a vehicle if a law is broken or something is in full view.

When the gun laws were introduced, the government had a "buy back" scheme where gun owners with the now prohibited weapons could sell their guns to the government, where the guns were then destroyed. Alternatively, if you had a weapon that now required a special license, they introduced easy ways for existing gun owners to get them (provided they met the criteria).

So in Australia now, if you live on a farm you can still own a weapon provided you have a license. Same for hobby shooters, and gun collectors (although the latter requires a special license).

Honestly, I think the gun laws in Australia were the last thing that a) was done correctly, and b) introduced correctly nationwide. And amazingly, by our conservative government who botched up a lot of other things. Mind you, our liberal government isn't doing much better...