20 years of data show Austrailias gun control laws work

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162. Nope. Still weirder than weird.

Both the US and Australia are stable democracies where any risk of a genocidal dictator taking power is totally microscopic. Unless I missed the spate of genocidal dictators appearing in both countries in the 20th century? To say that the deaths due to mass shootings fades in comparison to some bizarre belief that there's a risk of genocide and dictatorship in the US is just as fucked up as the American on another forum who informed me in all seriousness that he felt sorry for me because unlike him I'm not allowed to store an arsenal to protect myself against my government.

Here's the reality. The US has a massive problem with regular mass shootings. Australia used to have a similar problem which stopped when the Commonwealth and state and territory governments all got on the same page and introduced gun control legislation. Have you read the laws that we have in Australia? I'd be interested to know what if anything you object to in them, and why. I've posted a link to the legislation for where I live as the legislation is very similar in all states and territories.

http://www.legislation.act.gov.au/a/1996-74/current/pdf/1996-74.pdf

If that one's a bit hard going seeing it's lengthy and very dry, there's a very succinct summary of the laws here:

The sale, possession, and use of firearms are regulated by the Australian states and territories, with cross-border trade matters addressed at the federal level. In 1996, following the Port Arthur massacre, the federal government and the states and territories agreed to a uniform approach to firearms regulation, including a ban on certain semiautomatic and self-loading rifles and shotguns, standard licensing and permit criteria, storage requirements and inspections, and greater restrictions on the sale of firearms and ammunition. Firearms license applicants would be required to take a safety course and show a “genuine reason” for owning a firearm, which could not include self-defense. The reasons for refusing a license would include “reliable evidence of a mental or physical condition which would render the applicant unsuitable for owning, possessing or using a firearm.” A waiting period of twenty-eight days would apply to the issuing of both firearms licenses and permits to acquire each weapon.

http://www.loc.gov/law/help/firearms-control/australia.php