Captain Obvious releases a study

In 1996, an Australian maniac went on a tragic shooting spree that killed 35 people. In a stunning overreaction, the Australian government used this event as a political tool in order to ban all semi-automatic weapons and pump action shotguns, and gave the citizens a year to "turn 'em in". Because Australia already had gun registration, it was a simple matter to go door-to-door and collect them by force. Nominal compensation was offered, but the amount was determined by the government, and did not take into account collector value, sentimental value or historical significance. Granddad's beloved sporting rifle? Crushed. A rare custom piece by a renowned dead gunsmith? Smashed. A weapon left over from a historic battle? Hand it over on pain of imprisonment. Naturally, the crazy gunman at the center of this didn't receive the death penalty, as there isn't one in Australian law. He is now being fed and cared for by their citizens for the rest of his life.

Well, a study has just been released which finds that the buyback has failed to make any changes in the rates of gun crime or suicide in Australia.

From the article:

"The paper, published in the British Journal of Criminology and written by pro-gun lobbyists Jeanine Baker and Samara McPhedran, found the buyback of 640,000 guns at a cost of some $500 million failed to make Australia safer."

Well, duh. I could have told you that for free.

In my view, the real tragedy was that none of those 35 people had the means to defend themselves against the nutjob that was trying to massacre them. One person, armed and properly trained, could have saved countless lives, and spared the citizens the burden of caring for this deranged person for the next 4 or 5 decades. Remember, the police can't be everywhere. It's up to you to provide for your own defense.

A personal note to Rosie O'Donnell and Sarah Brady: This is why gun rights proponents fight so hard against gun registration. A government that can just snap its fingers one day and go around collecting all of the legally owned firearms is a police state, and it still does nothing to prevent crimes committed by people with illegally obtained and used firearms. If private sales are regulated the same way as firearms dealers, one ends up with defacto gun registration, as all of the records would be in one central location, and to me that would be just one more wobble down the road of totalitarianism in this country. Do you see this at all?

I didn't think so.