Mass shooting in Melbourne

[Cloudbringer]

Downunda, I'd not heard about this. It's just awful! I never will understand why people just don't find safe and NON-harmful ways to let out aggressive feelings....and if this is a gang-related massacre...sigh..that's one thing I cannot understand at all!

Mario, good post. [img]smile.gif[/img]

[Downunda]

As y'all know I'm more of a sit on the fence type but when I posted this topic I didn't explain my reason properly. I never meant for it to be a pro-gun vs anti-gun argument.

I was wondering whether something could be done via the health system to "help" people that thought stealing another persons life was ok. Or as a previous poster said, education in some form to show people right from wrong and why it is wrong.

The world will never be free from guns, that is a fact. I have no problem with people that want to own a gun, that's their decision and so long as they use it responsibly, as I said, I don't have a problem. My beef comes from how easy it seems to be for guns to fall into the wrong hands. If I wanted to go get a gun to "defend" myself I would need to fork out more than $200 for the licence, the money for the gun itself and on top of the money side of things I would also need to have a clean criminal record - I don't have a record so if I had the money I could get a gun but why should I fork out that much money just in case some bastard decides that he has the right to take my life?
But it seems that if I knew the right people (or the wrong people as the case may be) I could get a much "cooler" gun with relative ease.

[Leonis]

MagiK, ALL guns are banned in Australia if no reason can be provided for having one (self protection not qualifying as one of the reasons).

The criteria for owning, transporting and storing guns and amunition are very strict and subject to a number of checks and conditions.

Australia has never had as strong a history of gun ownership as the USA and certainly not "right to bear arms" constitutional bent.
I can honestly say that I've lived in Sydney most of my life and am frequently in the worst areas at the worst times and have never held, been confronted with or even seen a gun in someones home, or on the street apart from the cops.

Never witnessed or even heard a shooting.

Now of course it goes on around often. People have been shot dead in my suburb, at places I've been to etc...

But look at the stats. Our per capita murder and armed offences are a fraction of the USA's. So to firearm accidents.
Our society seems to accept that being largely unarmed compromises certain safety but the benefits ABSOLUTELY outweigh this. It is no coincidence that most people here are never involved in any firearm activity of any kind.

The majority of problems are between criminal elements and in the country, where gun ownership is necessarily higher, successful suicide attempts.

[Leonis]

Originally posted by MagiK: Im supposing that said child is too mentally feeble to go to the library or the internet, learn a bit of household chemistry and learn how to make bombs with every day household materials? As for banning the gun, go ban it in your own country not in mine. Oops you did that and a guy still went on a killing spree..yes more laws are the answer, lets make more laws... Sheesh, get real.

The laws have already been made and do work. That's a fact.
I would suggest that perhaps a little more sensitivity to those hurting from this incident and also the Bali bombing might be welcomed.

This nation is bruised and raw from recent events. You're looking at a similar percantage of Australians killed in Bali to Americans killed on 9/11. It's the kind of event where just about everyone is either affected directly or has family, friends, neighbours or colleagues who are.
This recent shooting doesn't help the spirits of those already down and some members of this board are affected by one or both.

[Glorfindel]

Originally posted by MagiK: I thought guns were illegal in Australia. I remember reading a bunch of hoopla about it. Perhaps another law againse murder would help?

They are illegal... the only way to have a gun down here is to get a special liscense... which is basically only available to farmers and the like AFAIK.

[Yorick]

Originally posted by MagiK: As for banning the gun, go ban it in your own country not in mine. Oops you did that and a guy still went on a killing spree..yes more laws are the answer, lets make more laws... Sheesh, get real.

O.k. Lets get real.

2 people are dead in this "killing spree" as you put it, and five are wounded.

And Australia is in mourning.

What does this tell you about how rare things like this are in a country with tough gun laws?

That they work.

[johnny]

In Holland are tough gunlaws, can't say that they help much though. There doesn't a week go by without someone getting shot somewhere.

[Yorick]

Originally posted by johnny: In Holland are tough gunlaws, can't say that they help much though. There doesn't a week go by without someone getting shot somewhere.

Really? With all that weed, you'd think people would be too mellow to bother....

Joking joking. There's not much to rib the Dutch about, so you've got to take these opportunities with both hands. [img]smile.gif[/img]

[Bristowe]

Man...I only saw this post now, I had a good frined of mine who had just finished a tutorial and left the uni pretty much just before the shooting...and pretty much half my friends go to that Uni (monash, clayton), bloody scary shit...
contrary to memnoch (Hi Mem! haha) my first thought was that this guy was probably doing shit in his grades or something and just went nuts (good idea mate, shoot people and i'll pass!)...i'm probably wrong though....heard it was two other students who were killed and others hurt bad.
What is this world coming too anyways geez...so many damn morons, they all need a good kick in the head.

Originally posted by Yorick: quote: Originally posted by johnny: In Holland are tough gunlaws, can't say that they help much though. There doesn't a week go by without someone getting shot somewhere.

Really? With all that weed, you'd think people would be too mellow to bother....

Joking joking. There's not much to rib the Dutch about, so you've got to take these opportunities with both hands. [img]smile.gif[/img] [/QUOTE]Nice dodge of the issue that even with anti-gun laws there isnt a nation around that doesnt still have gun related deaths.