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What were Australians thinking when they decided to disarm the populace? It must be a continual frustration to your fellow patriots. Is any sort of popular initiative working to reverse the situation?

The Port Arthur massacre (Tasmania, 1996) pretty much stunned a lot of people - you know, sort of like 9/11 did for you guys? I could ask the same questions of Americans and the "liberties" that were taken from you in the wake of that episode in history!

As I recall, at the time there was an outcry, but the ban only applies to certain types of weapons (semi- and fully-automatics, amongst others - I'm no gun expert so I can't give full details...) However, contrary to the perception I'm seeing reflected back through certain posts on this thread, it wasn't like they decided NOBODY was going to be allowed ANY firearms. Plenty of people are still armed, there is just much tighter controls than in the US about who gets a gun licence and what sort of firearms they are allowed to keep.

And Australia, for all the images of the outback and the kangaroos and so forth that you guys up there might associate with us, is one of the most urbanised nations on earth. A lot of us have had nothing whatsoever to do with firearms in our entire lives. We are creatures of the suburbs or of the big cities... and as such, the closest we get to a gun is seeing one on a policeman's belt.

I might remind you that I am the widow of a FReeper who was a man who believed patriotism wasn't all about owning a gun (he never had very much to do with them in his lifetime, or in death if anyone was wondering!)

I happen to be a proud Australian who has always believed much the same thing... and unlike the US, where I saw "I shoot and I vote" bumper stickers, showing up on polling day is compulsory in this country, and most of us don't (and didn't) carry firearms. "I vote Conservative, I don't shoot..." and nationally, we're the majority.