Alright, so I am an Aussie and we have what I would call very strict gun laws compared to our friends over the ocean in the USA. There has been a massive amount of school shootings and mass shootings in the USA this year alone. As of today the statistics for school shootings this year in the USA are 27. It is only May! That is 5 a month! I am probably going to cop a lot of heat from my US counterparts, but something has to be done! These school and mass shootings can not continue! Too many innocent people, including children are losing their lives when they should be safe! Children should not be going to school and being fearful that they are going to be shot and killed! That is NOT RIGHT! I understand that it is a US citizens right to 'protect' themselves, however a lot of these mass shootings and school shootings are being committed by children and teenagers. My first question is 'how in the hell is a child or teenager getting a hold of an AK-47?' I think that yes, if you it is your right to protect yourself, then why do you need a high powered machine gun? Isn't a pistol or a gun that needs to be reloaded after a couple of shots good enough? I personally think that there should be no need for a high powered machine gun unless it is used by defence forces. If you disagree, please leave a comment, because I would love to hear your opinion on this subject.
So like I said, yes I am an Aussie and we do have extremely strict gun laws here. We had a few mass shootings back in the 1980's and early 1990's. In 1996, there was a mass shooting committed by Martin Bryant in Port Arthur, Tasmania, Australia. Martin murdered 35 innocent people, wounded another 23 people, including children who were visiting a tourist area. It has been considered the largest mass killing in modern Australian History. Martin Bryant was sentenced to 35 consecutive life sentences and will never be released. Below is a photo of Martin Bryant. From media reports since his incarceration, he has been in and out of the mental facilities due to his ill mental health.
Because of Martin Bryant, the Australian Government announced a National Firearms Agreement. All semi-automatic guns and pump-action guns had to be surrendered to the government or were bought by the government under a buy back scheme. More than a million weapons were collected and destroyed with the scheme. You must have a firearms licence to own a licence and you must also not be a 'prohibited person'. The firearm must be registered to the person who holds the firearms licence and must be kept locked in a safe etc. Most studies have found the gun crimes are down and that we have only had a handful of mass shootings since 1996. That's 26 years.
So all of that being said, my brother showed me the following 2 Youtube videos that the comedian Jim Jefferies (An Aussie) has performed in the USA. Now I know that a lot of my US friends believe in having guns and being able to protect themselves. Being that the US has a significantly higher population than what we do here in Australia, I do understand why a lot would want to own a gun to protect themselves. I've watched a lot of videos of some crazy stuff that has happened over there and have even thought to myself, man I nearly would want to own a gun if I lived over there. But I have to say that I agree with nearly everything that Jim says in his comedy skit. Yes, it is a comedy skit and it is very funny, especially because I am an Aussie and I get his sense of humour. I honestly think that if there was a massive gun reform and gun control over in the US, then there would be no where near as many school and mass shootings. Let alone all the murders that are occurring every minute of every day over there. That being said, I also don't think that just gun reform and gun control is going to work. I think that drug addiction needs to be addressed as this is where a lot of crime is beginning and then mental health services need to be a lot better. I also think that the health system needs to be addressed with this. Majority of these terrible things are happening because people can't get help because they don't have the money or the medical insurance and then they get their hands on a semi-automatic weapon and it is all hell for leather. Or they are overlooked by the system and then wonder why these shootings are happening. How many lives are going to be lost before the government says enough is enough?
Even if you don't agree with him, you have to admit he is pretty funny. :)
The Norty Borderline
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