When will America wake up to gun violence?

[samsingh]

When will America wake up to gun violence?

Source: CNN Website

Consider what happened in Australia after a crazed gunman killed 35 people in Port Arthur, Tasmania, in 1996.

The Australian federal government persuaded all states and territories to implement tough new gun control laws. Under the National Firearms Agreement (NFA), firearms legislation was tightened throughout the country. National registration of guns was imposed and it became illegal to hold certain long guns that might be used in mass shootings.

The gun ban was backed up by a mandatory buy-back program that substantially reduced gun possession in Australia.

iReporter: 'AK-47 a weapon for war'

The effect was that both gun suicides and homicides (as well as total suicides and homicides) fell. Importantly, while there were 13 mass shootings in Australia during the period of 1979--96, there have been none in the sixteen years since.


Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2012/07/20/opinion/donohue-gun-control/index.html?hpt=hp_bn7


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Here are some facts about the benefits of gun control in a short period of time.

[onehandle]

1. America is sliding backwards in every way while the world progresses around us.

They should kick us out of the United Nations.

[samsingh]

2. they might

[former9thward]

5. And lose their main source of funding?

That will never happen. Plus they would lose the nightlife and partying of New York City and they don't want to lose that.

[hack89]

6. So you want the UN to wither and die? Why? nt

[onehandle]

7. Yes. That's exactly what I said.

Exactly.

[hack89]

9. No - that would merely be the result.

perhaps you didn't think your idea through.

[samsingh]

10. do i don't want the UN to wither away. I'm a supporter.

[hack89]

11. That is what will happen if they kick America out of the UN. nt

[samsingh]

15. we don't want them to kick us out -we just said they might - they can't obviously

[hack89]

19. "They should kick us out.." is what I was replying to.

I know that is not your post put that is what I was referring to.

[SoCalDem]

3. 2PM on 14th of

NEVER

[Arugula Latte]

4. I'm thinking never.

Americans think and react differently than civilized people.

[Tejas]

8. And stabbings and drunk driving deaths and...........*yawn*

[samsingh]

14. why do you sound so bored when we're trying to find ways to save human lives

wtf - 'yawn' ?????

[Tejas]

20. You rant about guns but won't touch the subject of violence.

20 out of 30 homicides are by firearm, the other 10 are by baseball bats, knives, machetes, poison, hands, feet, strangulation, shoving out of a 3rd floor window...but who cares about those 10 much less the root cause of why ANY of it happens.

No, fuck that, it's so much easier to just parrot a constant mantra of BAN TEH GUNNZ. Pathetic.

[Johnny Rico]

12. If that translates to, "pass meaningful gun control", the answer is

Not for the foreseeable future.

[samsingh]

13. but it still means that gun control is working in Australia

and cannot be dismissed as is often the case in the debate in this country.

[Johnny Rico]

16. I was simply addressing the question in the title of the OP.

[samsingh]

17. sorry, my bad.

[Johnny Rico]

18. No biggee.

[samsingh]

21. i'm still getting many statements from the pro-gun crowd that there is no fact

or evidence in support of gun control. This is evidence. This is fact. If pro-gun people can't accept this, then they are not interested in meaning discussion, just staking out a position with no evidence on their part.

This is the fact and evidence that gun control works in saving lives.

[samsingh]

22. Notice the very few responses from pro-gun people when an actual survey or fact

in defense of gun control is presented.

[Reasonable_Argument]

27. Ok

I skimmed the article and I don't see any facts presented. Just an argument that because another country reacted to tragedy by limiting their citizens' rights we should do the same.

[samsingh]

28. there are statistics of before and after gun legislation

[samsingh]

29. and maybe reading it instead of skimming will help

[Reasonable_Argument]

30. The video or the article

I don't see any in the article so it must be in the video?

[jeff47]

23. All we need to do is start a charity drive

To fund as many CCW permits as possible. For African-Americans and Latinos.

Gun control laws would follow very quickly.

[Edweird]

24. Australia is Australia and America is America. The Australians decided, collectively,

to do away with guns. There is *ZERO* chance of anything even remotely like that happening here. We like our guns. When you put the number of gun deaths in perspective with the deaths by other causes (driving and fast food for example) it becomes apparent that the problem isn't really THAT bad. Additionally, when you look at the number of guns per capita it's also obvious that it isn't as pervasive as some would have us believe. We live in a 'free' society with a Bill Of Rights and many of us are good with it the way it is.

[samsingh]

25. i'm sure it was not 100% support for gun control in Australia.

[Edweird]

26. It was a majority. Here it is the opposite.