[BlackVeil]

But KangaJ is right. Most Australians, in the urban environment, did not have a gun in the first place, so never missed losing the right to have one. The ban on semi-automatics has hit farmers very hard, though. A bolt action rifle is an outdated weapon, it makes it very hard to do necessary work like eliminating feral pests.

A big difference, in Australian society, is that unlike Americans hand guns had little presence. They were rarely owned by ordinary people, only by security personell or criminals. It is very hard to get a pistol licence in Aust, and if you do, the terms are such that one cannot carry it around, it has to be locked up (so why have it?)

But at the moment, hand guns are just totally flourishing on the black market. Criminals in Sydney have them, and a large number of odd people manage to get them. There was a murder a few months ago, where a pharmacist was shot dead by a 13 year old boy who had a pistol! There is also a large number of people - especially in ethnic communities such as the Lebanese - who just decide that they would like to have a hand gun. They go out and buy it illegally for cash. As many of these are working in high risk areas such a taxi driving, and petrol stations on night shift, one can't altogether blame them.

[risk]

Most Australians, in the urban environment, did not have a gun in the first place...

As I said, they're a different breed, apparently more docile.

[LibertarianInExile]

Why buy a gun to protect yourself when you can rob others with one and not have to worry about being shot? I bet most people buying guns illegally now have no intention of using them to shoot back. Why should they? Crime in Australia is a guaranteed growth industry!