I have not said anything controversial for a good while. This is not meant to start a flaming debate on the 2ND amendment. Its just a different way of doing things in a country that did not have to take up arms for independence nor has animals that will eat you.
When I lived on a farm in Oz, We could own any sort of rifle or shotgun that was sold. The only semi-autos were .22 and shotguns in our state. Anything bigger was either bolt or lever action requiring deliberate intent to chamber a round. No hand guns unless you were a cop or military. In other states you could get semi-auto .223 and 7.62mm
In 1996 a single gunman killed 35 people and wounded 28 using AR-10, an AR-15 and a NATO issue FN FAL. The Port Arthur massacre is the deadliest by a single gunman in the English speaking world.
The country was in shock. Gun control laws became much tighter. All states banned and heavily restricted the legal ownership and use of self-loading rifles, self-loading and pump-action shotguns, and heavily tightened controls on their legal use. The government initiated a "buy-back" scheme with the owners paid according to a table of valuations. Some 643,000 firearms were handed in at a cost of $350 million.
Gun licenses are based on "genuine reason"
Primary Producers (farmers and graziers) are allowed to apply for a license with evidence of land lease or ownership. Licenses for hunting, vermin control and collecting are also available. Hand gun licenses are next to impossible.
The number of firearms authorized under a Category B license issued to a primary producer are limited to:
No more than one registered self-loading rim fire rifle with a magazine capacity of no more than 10 rounds, and
No more than one registered shotgun and
No more than one registered non self-loading center-fire rifle
Consideration may be given to increasing the number of firearms authorized under this license, if a special need exists, and has been established to the satisfaction of the Commissioner.
The special need could be the size of the rural property.
My father had 1000 acres and had a basic C license.
He sold back my 30-30 Winchester lever action, 2 single shot .22 rim fire rifles and a 410 single barrel single shot shotgun
He kept a 22-250 center fire bolt action 5 shot rifle, a .22 cal semi auto rim fire and a 12g double barrel shotgun.
His license required an inspection of the storage safe.
In 2010 Australia had 1.03 gun deaths per 100,000 people 0.13 were murders, 0.73 suicide the rest were accident/unintentional
In 2011 the USA had 9.43 gun deaths per 100,000 people 2.72 were murders, 6.3 suicide and 0.4 were accident/unintentional
You are 15 times more likely to die from murder by gun and 8 times more likely to kill yourself with a gun in the USA
Australia has not had a shooting massacre since Port Arthur 1996 but had 10 shooting massacres in the decade preceding.
The USA has had 30 separate school shootings this year.
America fights for its freedoms and bill of rights but as the adage says, freedom comes at a price.
Mother Nature???
