Just one death at the hands of an illegally armed gunman, one too many!

More killing are the result of stabbings!

A politically resisted, proscribed persons register, could have prevented the port Arthur tragedy, and possibly the Hoddle street shootings?

A person with Bryant's IQ, would have been automatically eliminated forever, after raising several red flags!

As we have witnessed in the recent years, outlawing guns has effectively meant, only outlaws have guns! Moreover, that market is awash with a reported plethora of fully imported weapons, including semi automatic/fully automatic weapons replete with thirty-fifty round magazines and armor piercing ammunition?

Where a now largely unarmed public are the targets of choice, with breakins and drive by shooting hitting the nightly news along with a reported increased savagery!

Particularly against the elderly and frail!

And the undermanned police response is always reactive and in minutes when seconds count!

Oh sure, it's of considerable comfort to the relatives etc, to know who did it and that they eventually face the full weight of our justice system, even when that results in them free and at large to reoffend! And of absolutely of no comfort to the disarmed dead!

Who could be the ones in the dock facing jurisprudence if they decide to defend themselves and their property with lethal force, and survive!

Moreover, every Australian citizen should have that as their inherent right!

One wonders how many lives could have been spared if just one perpetually alert exserviceman had a legal concealed handgun that fateful day at Port Arthur, and used it as a trained expert, as soon as a military style weapon was pointed, to drill the mass murder right between the eyes!

We'd have less grieving relatives, [maybe none,] and one less mouth to feed in our ultra expensive overcrowded, crime riddled prison system!

And a very permanent cure for ice addiction! Preferably before his/her rallies are bankrupt or made homeless, or a trail of victims are left in his/her wake! In the final analysis, very much the lesser of two evils!
Alan B.

massacre everyday of the unborn in this country.

Shootings? Runner. Really?
Alan B.

As I have commented elsewhere, the 'gun control' sham is useful to some very sly wealthy individuals, to lazy politicians and mischief-makers as a distraction.

At the end of the day though it is only the licence and the importation controls, both of which were always there and continue to work that are worth anything.

After that, it is up to government to fund and facilitate cooperation between the various law enforcement jurisdictions,

and,

for the federal government to please stop allowing the 'diversity' tail to wag the immigration policy dog, and adding more imported gangs and toxic political values, traditions and systems to the mix.

One of your best posts yet Allan, well said.

The latest gun amnesty is yet another joke, what, do these foolish politicians honestly think criminals are going to give up their guns just because they are allowed to. Oh boy!

Runner, your continual anti abortion line is becoming boring. I would be more interested to know whether yo believe in BC events. Or if you think its all just a myth.

Gun amnesties are political events. But they shouldn't be.

For the police hierarchy too, because they get to claim that they are doing something, while misrepresenting the most commonly legal, but simply unregistered, sometimes of historical significance but about to be trashed, old pea rifles, engraved clay pigeon shotguns, the gun carried for fear of life during some old war.

Police should be doing better things, like cooperating across jurisdictions to intercept the feared criminal drug gangs that are establishing in Australia.

If police commissioners want to be of service to the community (an old fashioned thought one supposes in view of modern political appointments), they could eschew the temptation to seek headlines and advise the public that in fact an 'amnesty' always exists. The simple, practical solution for anyone who encounters some long forgotten probably rusted old firearms or even packed in original grease, is to transport it in its carry bag or a cloth (lest some hysteria break out somewhere, god knows there are many about who are desperate to be shocked) and hand it in to the local firearms shop where they are duly licensed people and can deal with it.

To David Leyonhjelm, if you are watching this topic, here are some facts which should help you.

The causal link between easy firearm availability and a high rate of firearm homicide is considered by the majority of the public to be a common sense concept. But this is not necessarily correct. It all depends upon the degree of public acceptance of extreme violence to solve one's personnel problems. In those countries where the public accepts the idea that extreme violence is wrong, such societies can have very easy availability of fireams and still have a very low homicide rate. (e.g. Switzerland today and England 1900-1960)

Firearm laws are a litmus paper test of the acceptance of violence in society. Those societies with very strict firearm laws are generally the most violent societies there are. The lax firearm laws of the USA is considered by the public as an example of the stupidity of such firearm laws. The USA has five times the homicide rate of Australia. But if all the firearm homicides in the USA were removed from the statistics entirely, the US's homicide rate would still be double that of Australia.

Any intelligent person would therefore conclude that there must be other factors responsible for this phenomenon.

These are.

The entertainment industry has since the sixties glorified extreme personnel violence. If your culture keeps telling young people that extremely violent behaviour is admirable, sooner or later your youth will believe it.

This is especially true in western societies today where one third of children belong to single parent families where their primary role models are displayed on TV sets and movies.

The cultural link to extreme violence is best exemplified in the fact that some cultures and ethnicities are renowned for extreme violence and serious criminal activity. These self same cultures and ethnicities without exception already possess extremely violent cultural values. The homicide rate among US blacks is (from memory) ten times the white homicide rate. Not surprising when so many "rap gangsta" "music" extols drug abuse, misogyny, gang activity, and the joys of killing people

"No massacres since 1996?"

The last massacre in Australia occurred on 20th of January of this year in the Bourke St, Melbourne when six people were killed and twenty-nine were injured.

"As we have witnessed in the recent years, outlawing guns has effectively meant, only outlaws have guns"

Rubbish, it means that only the state will have guns.

The anti gun debate in the US is actually about transferring guns from the populace to the state.

Gun control was effectively achieved, nationally in Australia within weeks of the Port Athur massacre in 1996. As the push for citizen-disarmament is rather uniform, worldwide, it must be that the Australian goverment is doing the bidding of outsiders.

Should a government that wont let you have a gun be trusted?

Let those who are anti gun demonstrate leadership by being the first to destroy their gun or hand it in so it can be destroyed.

“The most potent weapon in the hands of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed.” Steve Biko.

Those are able to see beyond the shadows and lies of their culture will never be understood let alone be believed by the masses – Plato.

David, http://southeastasianews.org/portarthur/bryants_mum_speaks.html

As a 2nd year LLB student I attempted to gain the forensic evidence files from the Tasmanian DPP and court documents (other than what is in the 'public domain')

It was a very curt letter from them advising me that " Mr Manton, the documents you request are not available..." Similarly the table of exhibits listing the weapons/firearms allegedly used. The M16 sold to MB had a faulty firing pin unable to strike the primer of the cartridges. This weapon later disappeared along with ballistic evidence in the form of recovered projectiles, some last seen on the desk of a detective in Hobart around 2001. In the course of events His Honour states that M Bryant "lacked the motor skills" - (required to exercise the degree of competency to accurately aim an air rifle), let alone carry out a massacre with a shot to kill ratio exceeding that of special forces soldiers. Prior to M Bryant's diversion to Seascape, the SOG - as you read in Heath O'Loughlin's "Sons of God" were positioned. Dr Peters needed an object at which the public ( the gun hating public more precisely) could vent their anger and use as a patsy...that and that alone is the only reason Martin Bryant is still alive today.

Why then a few months later, did the 2 SASR shooters (seen leaving via boat from the wharf nearby to the Broad Arrow Cafe) have to die in the Blackhawk Disaster at Townsville? Yes I have paid my respects to my fellow course mates at the Gratwick Club. Was the pilot shot, causing the mid air collision & not as the inquiry found it to be, an error of judgement (read: 'calibration') in the night vision flying equipment ? Very easy to substitute an 'FF' item for a 'UR' item in the Q Store before issuing it to the investigating officer, if the serial numbers are not recorded accurately.

Dr Rebecca Peters had carried out her craft so very well in the lead up to Port Arthur, a 'psyop' of epic proportions...her magnum opus if you like.

What continuing gun deaths show is that even after the Howard reforms the laws relating to gun freaks are still way too lax.

To see how to end the menace of gun killings we can compare two countries:

1. America where more than 33 thousand people are shot dead every year. This is the pre-Howard open slather with which Australia's gun freaks seek to menace our own citizens.
2. Japan in which guns are strictly forbidden, no loopholes, and gun deaths are a rarity.

Since plebiscites like the one designed to promote a pre-poll witch hunt against homosexuals are the flavour of the month, how about a plebiscite for laws to stamp out gun possession as rigorously as Japan's?

Meanwhile all that people who don't want to risk being shot can do is to identify political candidates soft on gun possession and place them last in elections.

HHey, Julian, you're still at it, peddling misinformation; you're not a Green by any chance are you?

ok, which words in the above are "misinformation" and what is supposed to be the correct information?

And no I'm not a Green and am repelled by that party's visceral hatred of democracy as displayed in the WA Upper House in brushing aside results of referenda and its Lower House opposition to one vote one value. They are no better than the UK Remoaners weeping and wailing over obeying a referendum instruction to leave the EU racket.

Julian,

You include US gun suicides as if they are done by others, you got pulled up on this elsewhere.
Entirely agree with you on the Greens though.

Included, not "include". When I noticed that only a third of the deaths in the USA due to gun anarchy are homicide I posted that fact and thereafter referred only to Yanks shot dead.

Only eleven thousand Yanks shot dead every year by other Yanks - that's all right then. Safe country, yeah?

If the gun freaks had their way in Australia that would translate to 11 thousand x 24 million/300 million = 880 Aussies murdered by gun homicide per year. That's only 17 shot dead by killers every week.

Sure some Australians might be satisfied with that sacrifice to allow the gun freaks their deadly hobby, even if the dead people's families hollered a bit.

It's a sacrifice Australians would surely vote for in a plebiscite. Why not suggest it Senator Leyonhjelm and the other vocal gun freaks?