Banjo

You are right. The light gun a jogging woman can carry if fired wont stop an attacker. However the sight of it might.

You say that the bush is safe. It probably is - but it doesn’t feel safe to many - and that is why lone men outnumber lone women 50 to one.

Usual Suspect

Since writing the article, I have decided that don't want any more guns than what we have now. However, I don't think the community should be as anti-gun as what it has been worked up by the anti-gun people to be. I do know that those in the Congo who are getting tortured an murdered are the ones without the guns.

ChrisPer: "the gun laws ... are rooted in contempt of gun owners and their (implied) values"

I can't speak for whoever made up the gun laws, but to me that statement is 1/2 right. I don't view sporting shooters with contempt, and I think it unlikely the majority of Australia does either. At least I am sure most Australians were proud of our Olympic shooters as I was when they won gold. They would be proud of them regardless of whether they were holding a gun or a javelin - the equipment doesn't matter to most of us.

Some do have contempt for hunters, although its not a sentiment I share. Contempt is a very strong word to use here, I think distaste would be better. In any case it has little to do with guns. The distaste is generated by the idea of killing cute furry animals for fun, and is directed at all hunters including those that use bows.

And finally I don't think too many people would have an issue with people who admire guns for their aesthetic qualities - any more than they would question the values of someone who collects swords or vintage cars.

Where I do have an issue, a big issue, is with the idea of carrying around a gun for the purpose of shooting people, or threatening to do so. This is what Brian Holden was advocating, isn't it? He said girls should carry gun for the sole purpose of shooting or threatening a potential attacker. In fact I gather the idea is we should all carry guns, so when we think someone is getting out of hand we can just threaten to kill them. Apparently this would solve many problems and make the world a safer place for all of us.

When I said you were 1/2 right, this is the 1/2 I was referring to. And yes, you nailed it - I view the idea with contempt. But is this the "(implied) values" you say all Australian's believe gun owners share? If so, then I think you are wrong.

Brian,
"The light gun a jogging woman can carry"

So a woman can carry a gun, but a man can't.

Seems rather sexist.

There are people with a XXY chromosome. Should they be allowed to carry a gun or not?

rstuart, I am pleased that you don't share contempt for shooters as such. It is pleasing you mentioned the Olympic medals, because that turned around the general public opinion. From 1996 to 1999 this was not so, at least in the media. Articles about empowerment of women as shooters had to be prefaced by the journalist "I hate guns as much as anyone, but..." (Emma Tom, the Australian), and people accepted as normal statements like: "the reason they like guns is because their dicks are too small to satisfy their wives" (The Australian, Adams). No journalist would question the facts of an activist who said: "“Our logic is that shooters are the most ill-disciplined group… That’s what attracts them to guns. It’s a state of mind… They are usually poorly educated, they have never had success at school and were never very good at sport… Guns to them represent something they have never been able to achieve.” (J Crook in radio interview). These lines represented apparently normal opinons supported by most journalists because they would never challenge their authors. Even official Government employees and researchers operated at that level: "Some have become enlightened and left the sport"(Mukherjee and Grabosky 1995)

The gun laws actually were founded in contempt for shooters!

The gun laws were founded to make it harder for those people who get the idea to use guns on other people. The effort involved is the deterrent.

rstuart is right when he suggests that the majority do not feel contempt for sporting shooters. Even if not a fan of the sport themselves. There will be those who just don't get why it has any appeal, like me and football, but contempt is really too strong a word.

A situation like Switzerland, where the population makes up the militia, is a moot point for Australia. We have professional armed forces. The other option is to join the Army Reserve. Like my eldest did. You get to handle guns and get paid for it too.

ChrisPer, yes OK. Guns are a favourite target of the talking heads. When your job its to grab attention and create a ruckus, guns and gun owners are easy target. But who actually takes what they say seriously?

You apparently do. That is a mistake. When you say no journalist contradicted the statement: "shooters ... are usually poorly educated, they have never had success at school", you may be correct. Be jeezzz, you don't actually expect them to, do you? What journalist in his right mind is going to be bothered with such drivel. Let the statement stand on its merits. No one is going to believe what it says about shooters, and it tells us volumes about the person quoted.

By all means collect such quotes. Hold them up for public ridicule at appropriate times, but don't take them as any indication of what the public or politicians actually think.

As you said, the current gun laws do seem to be achieving what they set out to do. Keen shooters can still own guns, yet gun related injuries and deaths are trending down. This is something to be celebrated - our pollies actually got something right. The sausage they delivered is actually edible for a change. I would not be complaining too much about how it was made.