Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

I Went After Guns. Obama Can, Too (Australian former prime minister confiscated 700,000 guns)
The New York Times ^ | 1/16/2013 | John Howard

Posted on 01/18/2013 6:46:02 AM PST by darrellmaurina

SYDNEY, Australia -- It is for Americans and their elected representatives to determine the right response to President Obama’s proposals on gun control. I wouldn’t presume to lecture Americans on the subject. I can, however, describe what I, as prime minister of Australia, did to curb gun violence following a horrific massacre 17 years ago in the hope that it will contribute constructively to the debate in the United States.

I was elected prime minister in early 1996, leading a center-right coalition. Virtually every nonurban electoral district in the country — where gun ownership was higher than elsewhere — sent a member of my coalition to Parliament.

Six weeks later, on April 28, 1996, Martin Bryant, a psychologically disturbed man, used a semiautomatic Armalite rifle and a semiautomatic SKS assault weapon to kill 35 people in a murderous rampage in Port Arthur, Tasmania.

After this wanton slaughter, I knew that I had to use the authority of my office to curb the possession and use of the type of weapons that killed 35 innocent people. I also knew it wouldn’t be easy.

Our challenges were different from America’s. Australia is an even more intensely urban society, with close to 60 percent of our people living in large cities. Our gun lobby isn’t as powerful or well-financed as the National Rifle Association in the United States. Australia, correctly in my view, does not have a Bill of Rights, so our legislatures have more say than America’s over many issues of individual rights, and our courts have less control. Also, we have no constitutional right to bear arms. (After all, the British granted us nationhood peacefully; the United States had to fight for it.)

(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...


TOPICS: Australia/New Zealand; Crime/Corruption; Editorial; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: aussieguncontrol; australia; australiaguncontrol; banglist; guncontrol; johnhoward; rkba; secondamendment
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061-80 ... 121-123 next last
To: darrellmaurina
It really lowers my respect for Aussies that they allowed themselves to be disarmed. As far as their proud ‘leader’, if there is ever a genocide or dictatorship in Oz, he will be remembered as a fool or a monster.
41 posted on 01/18/2013 7:16:04 AM PST by HogsBreath
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Washi

In Australia I have seen off duty cops in Brisbane leaving their stations in uniform without their guns. You think that would ever happen in NY, Chicago or Detroit?

Australia does not have the masses of low lifes like we do here.


42 posted on 01/18/2013 7:17:24 AM PST by USAF80
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 10 | View Replies]

To: darrellmaurina
From the title on down...I read... confiscate, one off tax and scheme. Sir, this is exactly why we went to war with Britain in the first place. There was this little attempt at a gun grab in a little place called Lexington-Concord we Americans didn't take to kindly too. Some of us still don't, especially when we are sold out from within. Oh, and this isn't Australia, mate.
43 posted on 01/18/2013 7:17:37 AM PST by Conservative4Ever (I'm going Galt)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: darrellmaurina

Have an Aussie friend who told me this was crap in the outback. Like that article says 90% of the nation is urban so a lot of middle of the road types anyways, but for every gun an Aussie pro gun supporter turned in there were problably two or three buried out in the bush...


44 posted on 01/18/2013 7:20:41 AM PST by ejonesie22 (8/30/10, the day Truth won.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Mouton

Australia was on a crash course to Socialism for a good long time. However they had a break from that under John Howard who was PM for 11 (96-07) years and did a lot of work to wrench that country back towards the Right. Now granted, they are probably still more statist than I like (socialized medicine exists), but they are much better than they were.

The amount of economic success he had was such that the Socialists that have followed him have been timid about undoing his work.


45 posted on 01/18/2013 7:21:43 AM PST by drbuzzard (All animals are created equal, but some are more equal than others.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 33 | View Replies]

To: Spirochete

This Prime Minister Murdered the real Crocodile Dundee..

“Last August, Rodney William Ansell, the rugged Aussie whose real life exploits inspired the Crocodile Dundee movies, died in a shootout with Australian police who had come (to confiscate his unregistered firearms. Oh, you didn’t read about it in our ‘free’ press? That’s cause it never appeared.

A police sergeant was also killed in the incident; the number of “peace officers” injured while invading old ‘Croc’ in his natural domain is unknown, but likely he took down several. I don’t mean to imply glee over the death and possible additional injuries; after all, they were “just doing their job” like the obedient Nazi’s tried at Nuremburg.

Ansell had been named 1988 Australian Man of the Year for inspiring the movie and putting Australia on the Tourism Map.” of particular interest to us here in the tourism dependent desert, Ansell was probably responsible for hundreds of millions of increased tourism dollars flowing into his beloved country. This is how his country repaid him. Because you see, in today’s world, no good deed goes unpunished and no bad deed un-rewarded. After all, Janet Reno was the laughingstock of DA’s nation-wide for her inept to outright unlawful per-formance in Florida. She is now “our-Attorney General (in addition to Fidel Castro’s).

See the difference in the two stories about how the reaL CROCODILE DUNDEE died?
Which one do you believe? I believe the one I read about on another site but forgot to bookmark. The one that stated he refused to give up his guns and fought it out with the police over their gun cinfiscation! . The man was right nobody has the right to disarm a law abiding citizen. Let them confiscate every single gun from every single criminal then we can talk about, thinking about , maybe pondering about, if we will even consider foolishly stupidly given up ours! They can not even disarm criminals so why should we foolishly volunteer to be unarmed victims!???-Tyr”


46 posted on 01/18/2013 7:21:57 AM PST by PilotDave (No, really, you just can't make this stuff up!!!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 28 | View Replies]

To: darrellmaurina

Turn Your Weapons In - The Government Will Take Care Of You


47 posted on 01/18/2013 7:25:46 AM PST by Iron Munro (I Miss America, don't you?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: ZULU
"Its sort of like the Welsh and Scots volunteering to fight for the evil descendents of Edward Long Shanks."

You'd be surprised how many descendants Edward Long-Shanks actually has. Many of them, including some of my Scots-Irish ancestors, came to America and ended up fighting the Brits for our independence.

48 posted on 01/18/2013 7:28:44 AM PST by Godebert (No Person Except a NATURAL BORN CITIZEN!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 29 | View Replies]

To: Iron Munro

In that case SCOTUS ruled against A. Jackson, but he did it anyway.


49 posted on 01/18/2013 7:33:17 AM PST by smokingfrog ( sleep with one eye open (<o> ---)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 47 | View Replies]

To: darrellmaurina

Aussies were all convicts and willingly remained subjects.

Americans threw off the chains of being subjects and became sovereign individuals.

We are citizens.

Aussies are subjects.

Therein lies the difference in the mentalities of the two nations.


50 posted on 01/18/2013 7:36:12 AM PST by GladesGuru (In a society predicated upon freedom, it is necessary to examine principles."..)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: darrellmaurina
I wouldn’t presume to lecture Americans on the subject.

Good. Now that we've established that principle, Mr. Howard, please STFU.

51 posted on 01/18/2013 7:38:34 AM PST by Hardastarboard (The Liberal ruling class hates me. The feeling is mutual.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Washi

My thoughts exactly.

Apparently, the Aussie PM is NOT a fan of the Bill of Rights.

I AM.


52 posted on 01/18/2013 7:39:05 AM PST by SomeCallMeTim ( The best minds are not in government. If any were, business would hire them)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 10 | View Replies]

To: darrellmaurina

Come over here and try it.


53 posted on 01/18/2013 7:39:47 AM PST by bmwcyle (People who do not study history are destine to believe really ignorant statements.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: GladesGuru
I'm afraid many of the younger generation of Americans either don't know or don't care about the difference. They've traded their citizenship with subjection for the price of a measly subsidized existence and all it ‘cost’ the government was another's hard earned dollars.
54 posted on 01/18/2013 7:43:34 AM PST by liberalh8ter (If Barack has a memory like a steel trap, why can't he remember what the Constitution says?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 50 | View Replies]

To: Washi

And that is what makes America UNIQUE & EXCEPTIONAL - from the time of our founding, those old white guys knew exactly what they were doing to create a free country. Australia and New Zealand and Canada followed the British Crown - Clearly, we do not want to emulate these seemingly “nice” countries when it comes to individual freedom as we have in America.


55 posted on 01/18/2013 7:43:39 AM PST by Sioux-san
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 10 | View Replies]

To: USAF80

“Australia does not have the masses of low lifes like we do here.”

While Australia does not have the black Urban Feral population we have in America, nor do they have the Hispanic illegal immigrants we do have, they have allowed in Muslims.

Bad move on their part as they are now discovering.


56 posted on 01/18/2013 7:45:18 AM PST by GladesGuru (In a society predicated upon freedom, it is necessary to examine principles."..)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 42 | View Replies]

To: muir_redwoods

One word. Constitution. We have one that guarantees our right to arms. Nothing in the down under guaranteed them the right to arms. Ergo, fire up the melting pots.

Carson City. Noon. Saturday 1/19.


57 posted on 01/18/2013 7:49:24 AM PST by rktman (Live the oath you took or get out of office!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: darrellmaurina

Australia was originally a penal colony....

Since they are all desendants of felons....

They wouldn’t pass the background check /s


58 posted on 01/18/2013 7:50:04 AM PST by nevergore ("It could be that the purpose of my life is simply to serve as a warning to others.")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: darrellmaurina

This isn’t Australia, we resist tyrants here.


59 posted on 01/18/2013 7:58:11 AM PST by SWAMPSNIPER (The Second Amendment, a Matter of Fact, Not a Matter of Opinion)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: muir_redwoods

The Aussies could have won if they had only stood their ground.


60 posted on 01/18/2013 8:00:50 AM PST by SWAMPSNIPER (The Second Amendment, a Matter of Fact, Not a Matter of Opinion)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061-80 ... 121-123 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson