Gunnies are to be given adequate time under the new gun amnesty to hand in their illegal weapons. Anyone found to possess an illegal firearm needs to be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

Hay Issy, what do you think of those American gung-ho lunatics The National Rifle Association trying to interfere in Australian domestic politics. Trying to turn us into a mini America when it comes to guns. Instead of Dodge City we'll have Gun City!

http://www.smh.com.au/world/your-gun-laws-are-a-mistake-national-rifle-association-to-australia-20150712-giaqal.html

From the ACIC report;

"The large number of legal firearms in the community, combined with the number of unregistered (including grey market) and illicitly sourced firearms ensures a continual and growing supply of firearms to the illicit market."

The full report;

http://www.acic.gov.au/publications/intelligence-products/illicit-firearms-australia-report

Since Port Arthur and the days of John Howard, the white-anting and undermining of gun control in Australia by the pro gun lobby has had a disastrous effect on the community. We are now in a state with an out of control number of illegal guns, and a lax legal gun control system. This has all combined to produce the present conditions of escalating gun violence in the community. The vast majority of decent Australians now expect the Turnbull government to act to destroy this blot on society!

Paul1405, 'gunnies' and so on

Utter rot.

It you set out to make an absolute jackass of yourself and to exhibit all that is so wrong and nasty about the Trotskyist Greens 'Eastern Bloc' you have done well.

Paul,

What do you think of a permanent amnesty?

Was that the best that you could do after alleging that the NRA was deeply involved in local politics? Pathetic!

So your reference alleges that there are 260,000 illegal firearms out there.
How do they know?
How did you get your figure of 600,000?

I know where I got my figure of over a million, out of thin air.

We all have access to the 'thin air' site.

For those that like statistics and are interested in the influence of minority groups, the Greens have some 18,000 members, Labor around 44,000, Liberals 50,000 and the Sporting Shooters 180,000.

Seems that the SSAA have more members than the other three combined.

The OLO voice of the Yank gun lobby writes "Graham Colyer, who was shot, said that Bryant was not the shooter, is that verifiable or not?"

Bryant's guilt was established in court. He pleaded lunacy and is currently in a secure looney bin in Tasmania. Fact. Verifiable in the public domain.

If anyone wants to verify with hard information in the public domain who this Graham Colyer is, whether or not he is a gun freak, and whether or not he told the truth, go for it - and best of luck.

EmperorJulian,

It is not true is it that Bryant is in an asylum or that he was suffering from mental illness when the offences he was convicted for were committed.

Bryant does have minimal IQ 66. The beliefs he formed, the rage and the behaviours are not inconsistent with that. -Not entering into the other aspects you and Is Mise are discussing.

Mild retardation would not excuse the horrendous crimes for which he was convicted.

However it is worth observing that the federal Parliament, on BOTH sides of the House, had for their own ideological justifications, decided to sell off the mental health and rehabilitation facilities where people like Bryant could go and find a predictable, supervised setting with some routine but appreciated tasks to do, some company, some observation by professionals and all of the soaps playing that they like to watch on TV.

Minimal IQ and mental heath sufferers and especially their families they were thrown back on, were the unfortunate victims and still are, of the whole mess of Canberra politicians, bureaucrats and others who should know better. And who are forever congratulating themselves and receiving bigger pay for more and more laws but ever poorer planning.

The problem was that the emerging victim industries and multiculturalism were far better prospects for political spin and opportunism, and of course were to become an endless pit for taxpayers' dollars. In effect, those facilities for mental health sufferers and disabled were sold off because federal governments could not plan and are focussed short-term, on the next election.

Did both sides of the federal Parliament appreciate Howard shelving what should have been a Royal Commission? Of course they all did. Have those same politicians who now enjoy much higher remuneration ever corrected that cynical, foolish decision to cast low IQ and mental patients back onto families and the community? Of course not!

Julian,

I took your advice,
"Bryant moved just a few metres and began shooting at the table where Graham Colyer, Carolyn Loughton and her daughter Sarah were seated. Colyer was injured in the jaw, nearly choking to death on his own blood."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_Arthur_massacre_(Australia)

Had you bothered to read the link that you gave you'd have seen his name.

"If anyone wants to verify with hard information in the public domain who this Graham Colyer is, whether or not he is a gun freak, and whether or not he told the truth, go for it - and best of luck."

Nice one that, feel free to stigmatize any other Port Arthur survivors that disagree with your preconceived notions.