Residents of Australia, how do you feel about your gun laws? Specifically, do you feel safe and protected, or do you wish you had the ability to protect yourselves?
As an Australian shooter, I am unsatisfied with some aspects of our gun laws, but first I will explain how gun control alone cannot prevent or impact on crime significantly. Instead, it is cultural influences that influence crime rates, whether or not there are guns available.Ignoring America, if we look at countries with similar cultures to Australia, we will see the effects of gun laws and culture more clearly.If we look at new Zealand, who have similar gun laws to Australia pre-1996 law reforms, they still have a very similar crime rate to Australia now. They are allowed semiautomatic centre fire rifles, pistols, etc… and yet their crime is similar to Australian crimes.Czechoslovakia have similar gun laws to the USA; semiautomatic centre fire rifles are legal, handguns are legal, fully automatic rifles are legal with special licencing, yet only a fraction of the U.S. crime rate.Gun violence (and really any crime) is subject of culture, not laws.Now for what I dislike about the Australian laws/system:Appearance laws: you can have two functionally identical rifles, but if one *looks* scary (“tactical” chassis, foregrip, etc…) it will be illegal (in NSW, anyway)The system: The firearms registry system is incredibly outdated. Aside form the initial waiting period (25 days or so, which is fair), buying a firearm takes way too long, is unnecessarily complicated, and is known for sending licences to incorrect addresses, having delays, etc.Handgun laws: a licensed shooter, after passing all tests and courses, cannot use their handgun on their own property. They must only be used at ranges, even though they would be greatly useful for landowners. This also prevents sporting shooters from practising on their own propdeathSelf defense (in general): an Australian citizen cannot legally decent their home from a criminal who has broken in, with a firearm or any other implement.Semiautomatics: you cannot own one unless you are a landowner, contract shooter, or have a medical condition. If a shooter has passes all courses, background checks, and tests, they should be able to have semiautomatic firearms, as they have been deemed to be upright, law abiding citizens.Gun laws I am happy about:Storage laws: our firearms must be stored in a locked safe when not in use, and ammunition stored in a separate locked container. This has prevented thefts and accidental injury/death. Thus is a law I support.
What specifically do anti-gun people think is a practical, realistic solution to gun violence?
Coming from Australia, being a registered gun owner and heavily into politics, i can shed a lot of light on this topic. The obama regime wants America to become like Australia and Britain in terms of gun legislation. What obama forgot to mention in his anti gun speech in the oval office is that many non-americans envy the US for your 2nd amendmen. So unfortunately I know where this is heading. Liberals do not know when to stop, one reform to gun laws will lead to another and another until it is fully demonized and the next generation will no longer have an interest in shooting to pass on to their next generation. The anti gun extremists see Australia as a paradise, criminals are safer, crime rate rises, your complete right to self defence goes out the window, including owning a can of pepper spray or taser in your own home and only criminals are able to posses firearms and other weapons. Point is anti gun people want it to be illegal to possess firearms full stop.
How do Americans feel about the gun control policy?
Yes they vary widely by state. And here is how Americans feel about current gun laws. By an overwhelming majority, Americans favor background checks for gun sales and in most cases, for sales at gun shows. The average response was 88 percent in favor of background checks, with a low of 84 percent for the Associated Press poll and a high of 92 percent in surveys from CBS and CNN.Two other questions, asked in seven polls, were about controversial measures that will be included in proposed congressional anti-gun-violence legislation.By an average response of 57 percent, people favored a ban on high-capacity gun clips, while 56 percent of Americans approved of a ban on assault rifles and semi-automatic weapons.But when it comes to a perceived need for gun control versus the right to own guns, as interpreted by courts in the context of the Second Amendment, Americans seem split on the issue.About 50 percent of people, in an average of three polls, were concerned that gun-control legislation would take weapons away from them, or believed protection from gun violence was a lesser concern than protecting their Second Amendment rights.In addition to background checks, another idea that has widespread support is devoting more funds and attention to mental health issues. An average of 83 percent of people surveyed in four polls favored increased attention to mental health programs.Of the 12 ideas that appeared across the grouping of nine polls, the least popular was arming teachers and school officials with guns. It only had a support rate of 41 percent. The other interesting thing about the polling is that many Americans are unaware of what the gun laws are in their own states.
How do you define "pro-gun" or "anti-gun"?
I think that's a bad way to put it. Like pro hammer or anti hammer, a gun is a tool. Some people have irrational fears of guns, but actually they help protect more than they are used to attack. Guns make those who would be over run by violent people safer.
If a person is anti abortion and pro gun control, which party is best for them?
The gun control issue is fuzzier and more inbetween issues. There are both Democrats and Republicans with various stances on how much gun control there should be. In general, Democrats want more gun control, some probably no guns at all. And Republicans want less. But most people in both parties probably want some gun control but not too severe. So you could really come to either party with some gun control beliefs.On the abortion issue, however, there is no middle ground. It is a holy grail for Democrats. It is so VERY VERY important that people have the right to abortion. They are often against even things like Woman’s Right to Know Laws, and women being guaranteed to see ultrasounds… Many even want crisis pregnancy centers defunded in favor of ALL funding exclusively for Planned Parenthood which mostly does abortions, no help for keeping babies, and rarely refer to adoption. There are so many crisis pregnancy centers that help women have their babies, keep their babies, provide financial support, parenting classes… and refer to adoption if birthparents desire. Planned Parenthood is usually just pushing abortions. Pro-life Democrats have long since left the party and become Republicans since Democrats are very vocal and pushy about abortion, and not only do they lie about what abortion is, but often lie about pro-lifers and want to defund all the other options that help women in order for all money to go to abortions.Please join the Republican party, the party of LIBERTY, and conserving the rights and values of all according to the Constitution and the Bill of Rights instead of incrementally more and more and more to socialism and communism. Leftism has overtaken the Democratic party. Republicans are now and always were the liberal party for liberty. Because the country was founded on liberalism. Conservatives are conserving liberty. Conservatives are liberals. The Democrats are chipping away at freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and especially freedom of the press in favor of a strong elitist government that decides what is best for everyone and working towards global citizenship and global government. Republicans want to remain an independent USA staying true to our founding principles, and NOT strong government, or global government. That is very scary and precisely the founding of our country was to retain most rights to states and people and NOT to the national government.
Why do anti-gun people feel they have the right to take away guns?
It isn’t a right in every constitution. It’s only a right in the U.S. constitution. So when my State and Federal governments became convinced certain guns were too common, the constitution in the country I was living in at the time allowed the State to take many of the particularly nasty guns away and I did not and could not object. There are 7.4 billion people in the world and 319 million U.S. citizens, so whiles that is a substantial, important, but relatively small minority, it’s most certainly not universal.As for is it being a “natural” right, going back to pre U.S. Constitution days - tracing it back to the Magna Carta and longbow, swords and spears (say) , well, I contend this reasoning is problematical. Unstated rights like that are much more subject to interpretation, and other countries - the U.K. for example, without a written constitution does not recognise it in the same way that certain people from the U.S. might. And that was the country the Magna Carta was signed in.As for the right in the U.S. (since the question implies only the U.S. ), every other right is not totally unfettered either. The much overused argument concerning the right to yell fire in a theatre does not allow the right to “dangerous speech”, for example. I’m sure there are other better ways of putting that argument, but if there are controls over the first U.S. amendment, why not the second?Additionally, the “shall not be infringed” does not apply to all arms, just to some. Exactly which ones have been chosen as allowable ought to be open to refinement over the years. Nuclear arms, Rocket launchers, Land mines - are they all allowable under the same amendment. Would a Star trek “phasor” be legal? A high energy hand held Neutron beam thrower? A kinder suprise (no, sorry they are illegal).Finally, the U.S. constitution does not prevent the U.S. states from making different laws and regulations regarding the exact same weapons and that is clearly the case. Gun laws in NY, Illinois, and California are quite different than, say Utah, Nevada and Texas.
Need a creative title for gun control essay?
im writing a gun control essay on how background checks should be enforced more, but i need a title for just gun control and how it should be strengthened. any ideas? thanks!