Australia has some of the best gun control laws in the world, and we should not change that. I am sickened every time some crazed redneck in the US points to our gun laws as “proof” that America should not have the same laws.
What exactly is the point they are trying to make? That we don’t have mass shootings on the same scale that they do?
Since the Port Arthur Massacre in 1996, which killed 35 people, we have only had three mass shootings classified as massacres, which means four or more people died. Only one was where the perpetrator killed complete strangers; the other two were the murders of family members.
Compare this to the US, where such massacres seem to occur on a weekly or even daily basis. Why do these American rednecks believe their guns laws are better than ours?
I lived in the US for six months, and mixed a lot with military and ex-military personnel. Most of them seemed in favour of gun control laws. The people that were against such laws seemed to be people who had never carried a gun for a living, and didn’t realise how serious that responsibility is.
Anybody who has ever had to use their gun in the line of work will tell you that it does not give you a feeling of power. In fact, it is one of the less glamorous aspects of the job.
For my own part, I carried a gun for four years as a prison officer at Goulburn gaol. On two occasions, I had to draw my revolver to protect myself against potentially deadly attacks, and it was a sickening feeling.
One occasion was where two prisoners had escaped and were heading for the primary school next to the prison. I intercepted them, alone, and one threatened me with a long-handled shovel. The other was carrying a long-handled rake, both capable of doing serious damage if they were used as weapons.
I took them back to the prison at gunpoint, but it was the most frightening experience I had ever had until that time. I prayed to God that I wouldn’t have to use the revolver. I didn’t want to take another human life.
A similar incident occurred where a drug-crazed visitor pulled a knife on me, and again I had to draw my revolver. It was the same sickening feeling, and I became averse to guns after that. I resigned shortly later.
Anybody who has not been in a situation where they have to make these life and death decisions cannot begin to comprehend the trauma that such situations cause. I still have the occasional nightmares about these incidents, and ended up developing PTSD and schizophrenia, which still affects me.
I have spoken to others who have been in similar situations. One police officer I spoke with told me of the time he was wrestling with a suspect on the ground, and the suspect was trying to get his service pistol. He, too, still has nightmares about it.
Just about every law enforcement officer I have spoken to has had similar feelings about the dangers of guns, and nobody ever wants to have to use them.
So what is the psychological profile of people that do want to use them against others? Not being a psychiatrist, I will leave that to the experts, but from a law enforcement aspect, I don’t think they would be model citizens.
The people who say they would happily use guns against others are the people who should not have them. The fact that we have only had three firearm incidents classified as massacres in 27 years puts to rest the need for self-defence. Other firearm incidents are relatively rare in Australia compared to other countries where firearm laws are not in place or enforced.
Law enforcement officers and military personnel carry guns to protect society, and are carefully screened through psychological profiling before they are issued with firearms. They receive intense training on how to use firearms, and there are strict guidelines on how and when they can be used.
The same processes are not applied to ordinary citizens. In the US, for example, just about anybody, it seems, can get a gun, with no requirement on being psychologically profiled or properly trained in their use. This is not a situation that we would want to see in Australia.
Australia’s firearm laws have served us well, and I would have no problems with them being made stricter. Perhaps Americans could learn from us, instead of screaming that our rights have been taken away. Nobody has the right to kill another human being, and that’s exactly what guns are for when they are in the wrong hands.
Craig Hill is a Brisbane-based Social Justice Campaigner, Writer, Teacher and Business Consultant. He has campaigned for social justice in Australia, promoted human rights in China and worked with the homeless in Honolulu. He holds a Graduate Certificate in Education and a degree in Management.
I am excited to announce that I intend to run as an independent candidate for Bonner at the 2025 federal election.
I know it’s a long way out, but I feel that I should start now, and put the years ahead into working out policies and strategies, and making sure I am ready for it.
Having spent 25 years campaigning for social justice, it is clear that governments formed from either of the major parties simply don’t listen to the community. The only way to get heard, it seems, is to get into parliament.
In particular, I will be learning from people on social media and in the community what the people of Bonner and the Australian public want from a representative in parliament.
My focus will still be on social justice, but there are many other areas where I have had work experience that I believe I can contribute to in parliament.
These include education, health, foreign affairs, the environment, climate change, the economy, taxation reform, social security reform, immigration, political accountabilty and sustainability, among many other things.
I don’t intend to be a candidate who runs on just one or two platforms. The work of a parliamentarian should benefit all people across Australia in all aspects of social and political life.
And of course, as a disabled person, I will still be fighting for a better deal for the aged, disabled and marginalised.
Any assistance you can give, whether financial, assisting with policies or campaigning, will be greatly appreciated.
I am excited to announce that I intend to run as an independent candidate for Bonner at the 2025 federal election.
I know it’s a long way out, but I feel that I should start now, and put the years ahead into working out policies and strategies, and making sure I am ready for it.
Having spent 25 years campaigning for social justice, it is clear that governments formed from either of the major parties simply don’t listen to the community. The only way to get heard, it seems, is to get into parliament.
In particular, I will be learning from people on social media and in the community what the people of Bonner and the Australian public want from a representative in parliament.
My focus will still be on social justice, but there are many other areas where I have had work experience that I believe I can contribute to in parliament.
These include education, health, foreign affairs, the environment, climate change, the economy, taxation reform, social security reform, immigration, political accountabilty and sustainability, among many other things.
I don’t intend to be a candidate who runs on just one or two platforms. The work of a parliamentarian should benefit all people across Australia in all aspects of social and political life.
And of course, as a disabled person, I will still be fighting for a better deal for the aged, disabled and marginalised.
Any assistance you can give, whether financial, assisting with policies or campaigning, will be greatly appreciated.
I am excited to announce that I intend to run as an independent candidate for Bonner at the 2025 federal election.
I know it’s a long way out, but I feel that I should start now, and put the years ahead into working out policies and strategies, and making sure I am ready for it.
Having spent 25 years campaigning for social justice, it is clear that governments formed from either of the major parties simply don’t listen to the community. The only way to get heard, it seems, is to get into parliament.
In particular, I will be learning from people on social media and in the community what the people of Bonner and the Australian public want from a representative in parliament.
My focus will still be on social justice, but there are many other areas where I have had work experience that I believe I can contribute to in parliament.
These include education, health, foreign affairs, the environment, climate change, the economy, taxation reform, social security reform, immigration, political accountabilty and sustainability, among many other things.
I don’t intend to be a candidate who runs on just one or two platforms. The work of a parliamentarian should benefit all people across Australia in all aspects of social and political life.
And of course, as a disabled person, I will still be fighting for a better deal for the aged, disabled and marginalised.
Any assistance you can give, whether financial, assisting with policies or campaigning, will be greatly appreciated.
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Craig Hill Media and Consulting 
No, the US doesn’t have the strict gun control you do, nor could there ever be confiscation, as protection from ex post facto laws is one of the rights enshrined in our glorious Constitution.
But here’s what else we didn’t have:
– 5 km leashes;
– Quarantine camps for the insufficiently obedient;
– Folks committed to mental hospitals for questioning the need to vaccinate children for a disease that children were virtually immune to;
– Bitches and her newborn pups shot dead because some martinet bureaucrat feared animal rescue volunteers might spread the plague;
– Cops prowling the streets like droogs, clubbing, strangling, or head-stomping anyone who wasn’t wearing their useless face diaper.
248 years ago yesterday, we stood up to a tyrannical government that tried to take our guns. We won that day thanks to our privately-owned guns, and went on to secure our liberty. Since then, we’ve stood out as a beacon of liberty, and more than once preserved the freedom of millions around the world. We saved your asses, too, else you’d be speaking Japanese right now. (You’ll all be speaking Mandarin soon if you don’t grow a set.) So please, spare us the arrogant lecturing on how we could learn from you sheeple.
Of course, a soft, woke, pseudo-intellectual like yourself would imagine that any American, who appreciates the need for firearms and cherishes our right to keep and bear them, is a ‘crazed redneck.’ As opposed to half the households in the US, which include an increasing number of urban women, minorities, and liberals.
Posted by Matt | April 22, 2023, 12:54