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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.

Memo to all who brought up the topic of guns and/or added some keywords to this article which have nothing to do with anything in regards to this article:

Ping to post 49.

I repeat, wherever you got the idea that our current (Conservative) Federal Government "disarmed the populace" and "banned all guns" in Australia, you're wrong. And even if that had been the case, no shots were fired during this incident, so bringing that up is about as relevant to the thread in question as tossing in some reference to kangaroos or the 2000 Olympics.

It's about as helpful as some of the stereotypes I had about America before living there. As in, not very helpful at all.

Give it a break, please.

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.

When I lived in the suburbs of the US Northeast, I had a similar perspective. Owning a gun was perceived as unsophisticated, something simply not done in polite society. Besides, we all thought, didn't we pay civil servants to provide protection for us anyway? And so on, (you can probably fill in the rest...)

It was only later that I became aware of the real statistics. Guns still find there way into "gun-free" societies. Police emergency response times almost never are fast enough to stop a crime in progress. States and counties with concealed carry laws show a marked reduction in violent crime. Women, especially benefit from concealed carry laws.

As is the case with many topics, the press tends to be one-sided on the issue of guns. I assume this may be the case down in Oz as well. You may want to read some of the data in John Lott's two books on the subject. It is possible that upon seeing some of the data on gun-ownership that you have not been exposed to, you might choose to reevaluate some of your positions on the subject.

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.

Does the concept of compulsory voting raise any red flags with you? Is it really a good thing for people who feel disinterested or resentful of the whole political process to vote in it? Do we believe that the compulsed voter will do the meaningful research on the issues and candidates to benefit the process, or would such voters have the lowest possible standard of responsible voting?

You have a beautiful and wonderful country, but I worry for your freedom as I do ours!