Dakota Beacon

1996 Port Arthur Massacre

On April 28, 1996, a 28 year old Australian man with “intellectual disabilities” and a history of violent and erratic behavior since childhood went on a 24 hour spree of extreme gun violence and arson that resulted in 35 deaths and wounded 23, which he described as being “lots of fun”. The shooter was sentenced to 35 consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole. The lack of a possibility of parole is a rarity in Australia.

Australian media surveys found up to 85% of Australians supported gun control. Australia’s constitution prohibits the federal government from enacting such controls, so the federal government “suggested” gun control measures for the individual states to implement. Australia’s constitution also prohibits “takings (i.e. confiscating firearms) without just compensation”. Curiously, only Victoria state decided to publicly report the law’s results in detail to the public.

Australia’s “1996 National Agreement on Firearms” and its one-half billion dollar “gun buyback scheme” (raised through a one-time surcharge on the Australian Medicare levy)  reimbursed law abiding Australians for 631,000 semi-automatic 22 caliber rimfires, semi-automatic shotguns, and pump action shotguns from October 1, 1996 through September 30, 1997. A later study by the “Sporting Shooters Association of Australia” revealed that 93% of those firearms have been replaced with one, if not more, imported new replacement single action weapons. Victoria state provided a breakdown of types destroyed, and in that state less than 3% were military style semi-automatic rifles.

The results were a 15% increase in “unlawful entries” and a doubling of “robberies” over the subsequent half decade (see charts below). Robbers and thieves were obviously “emboldened” by the media coverage of the destruction of long guns, but unaware of the degree to which the long guns were replaced with new legal long guns by the owners.

The $500 Million semi-automatic and pump action long gun buyback scheme appears to have done nothing to reduce robbery and theft. Media coverage, however, may have convinced those with “intellectual disabilities” and those mentally unstable individuals with a “propensity for violence” that “gun control laws” prevented them from using guns in the commission of violent acts.

Monash University Shooting

In 2002, an international student killed two fellow students at Monash University in Victoria with pistols he had acquired as a member of a shooting club. The gunman was acquitted of crimes related to the shootings due to mental impairment and remains under psychiatric care.

Australia’s “Handgun Legislation of 2002” resulted in amended handgun legislation that was implemented in all states that included:

• ten round magazine limit
• .38 caliber maximum round diameter
• 4.72 inch barrel length minimum for semi-auto pistols
• 3.94 inch barrel length minimum for revolvers

Calibers up to .45 (inches) could receive an endorsement for use in metallic silhouette or single action shooting matches. These new laws were opposed not only by sporting shooters groups but also by gun control supporters, who saw it as paying for shooters to upgrade to new guns. In Victoria state alone, $21 Million was paid for confiscating 18,814 target pistols… after which 15,184 “replacements” were imported.

What we in America were calling ‘Saturday Night Specials” or “Pea Shooters” were effectively outlawed… but they were replaced by over 80% of the owners (using the proceeds from the government reimbursement) with larger caliber and longer barreled imported handguns. This explains the reduction in unlawful entries. The prospect of a homeowner or proprietor possessing a more lethal weapon has to be a deterrent to taking the risk of entering a home or business without invitation.

Voluntary Gun Storage Initiatives

A campaign by police and shooting bodies, such as the Sporting Shooters’ Association of Australia’s ‘Secure Your Gun, Secure Your Sport’ drive, to encourage secure storage of rifles and shotguns (handguns are subject to strict storage requirements) has reduced the number of stolen guns dramatically from an average 4,195 per year from 1994 to 2000 to 1,526 in 2006–2007.

Additional Results

The annual report, Homicide in Australia 2007-08 National Homicide Monitoring Program is available at http://aic.gov.au/documents/8/9/D/%7b89DEDC2D-3349-457C-9B3A-9AD9DAFA7256%7dmr13_004.pdf

The general trend prior to 2006-07 was toward a lower proportion of homicides using firearms and a higher proportion of homicides using knives and other sharp instruments. Most homicides are perpetrated by a person or relative known by the victim. “Robbery” is the most common crime that precipitates a homicide. 

The majority of firearms employed in homicides in Australia continue to be either unregistered and/or unlicensed and increased from 9% of homicides in 2006-07 to 12% of homicides in 2007-08, the most recent report available. Why are later years’ results not available yet?

The Australian Institute of Criminology website is at http://aic.gov.au/

Following the 1996 law, “unlawful entry” INCREASED significantly and “robbery” DOUBLED as shown on the charts below.

After the 2002 law, however, robbery FELL to pre-1996 levels and unlawful entries were CUT BY ONE-HALF, as indicated in the following charts from AIC data.

A Way Forward in the United States of America

Restriction of long guns used for sporting purposes has been proven to be counterproductive and extremely expensive.

Gun storage education efforts can significantly reduce the number of guns stolen from homes and businesses and subsequently used in the commission of a crime.

Those with “intellectual disabilities” and those with a “documented propensity toward violence” may warrant more monitoring and attention by relatives and by education, workplace, mental health, law enforcement, and other professionals.

Upgrades of handguns, used for protection of homes and businesses, to minimum barrel lengths of around 4 inches and calibers of .38 to .45 inches could be expected to reduce “unlawful entry with intent” and “robbery” significantly, especially if such a program were well covered by the media.

After all… guns, knives, scissors, screw drivers, baseball bats, and other potentially lethal objects don’t kill people… people kill people… by the means available to them… because they either don’t understand what they are doing, cannot control their actions because of emotions, are incapable of “empathy”, or a combination thereof.