If the founding fathers of the US Constitution had ever seen an Armalite rifle, and what it could do in seconds to a McDonalds restaurant full of mums, dads and kids, they may have had second thoughts about the Second Amendment.

That being said, there is no correlation to firearms ownership and homicide rates within well socialised communities. If the mere presence of firearms is the cause of homicides and massacres, then every community possessing high rates of private firearm ownership should have very high rates of homicide. This is not the case and this is a provable premise.

It can be best illustrated in the case of the USA. The USA's high homicide and massacre rate is presented as proof positive by anti gun activists (another name for vegans and vegetarians) that guns cause crime. But if the US homicide rate of 9.8 per 100,000 is compared to Australia's rate of 1.8 per 100,000, a startling fact stands out. That is, that if all of the people murdered in the USA using firearms is completely removed from the US statistics completely, the US's rate would still be double the Australian rate. Obviously, something other than the mere presence of firearms is causing large numbers of people to think that killing other human beings is perfectly appropriate.

The reason for that is because western societies are changing, and not necessarily for the better. Our entertainment media through visual images, songs, and computer games are glorifying violent criminal behaviour, including drug use, misogyny, gang behaviour, and even racial hatred, to our children. Our kids are being socialised onto this violent new culture by the media, while in the past they were socialised by their parent's traditional values. Family and Christian values that stress sublimation of individual self interest for the good of the community, which have always been the keystone of our former peaceful cultures, are constantly being attacked and belittled.

Add immigration from non western countries, and left wing political organisations enthusiastically stoking racial hatred through identity politics, and western societies are growing powder kegs in search of a fuse.

Trump lovers need be reminded that there is No Right To Bear Arms in Australia, even in Queensland.

Even in the US that right was an 18th one to combat British domination - not a 20th right to mainly use guns to: commit suicide; kill family members and school kids.

I only used guns in the Australian Army Reserve - was crap on the SLR, but better on the M16/AR15 and submachine gun (almost no kick to anticipate).

Dear LEGO,

I have not read the article yet, only your comment - and I must protest, «anti gun activists (another name for vegans and vegetarians)»: I am vegetarian, I would not touch a gun myself, but I support the freedom of others who so wish to have guns in order to protect their homes.

Morality is of value only when it is self-imposed.

CORRECTION - ON ABOVE

Even in the US that right was an 18th CENTURY one to combat British domination - not a 20th-21st CENTURY right that results in guns mainly being used to commit suicide, kill family members and school kids.

Australians don't have a constitutional right to bear arms; Americans do. It's tneir problem; let them fix it, or not. Get over it! It's nothing to do with us.

It is mostly irrelevant to Australians what the US does about gun controls in their own country.

But statistics prove the most lethal aspect of firearms in the US is hand guns:
And the most high profile are military weapons, which statistically are the least problem.

How the second amendment legitimises the toxic mix of hand guns in their communities is the issue to be dealt with.

Obviously the US has an urgent need to deal with this problem, and they are. Hand gun crime is reducing as tighter gun controls incrementally creep in without much fuss.

I think gun control is a non event.

Dan