Galt's Gulch

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  • Posted by freedomforall 10 years, 8 months ago
    Based on my experience living in Australia, most Australians don't mind being a "nation of victims." My guess is that this politician is just using the event for personal coverage in the news and nothing will come of it.

    BTW, if you want some great Aussie parody on its own government, I recommend watching the Australia tv series "Rake." (The US version is for morons by comparison.)
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  • Posted by Flootus5 10 years, 8 months ago
    I have known Aussies of both persuasions. In my limited and biased profile of Aussies I have known and traveled with, most have been in the mining business. They tend to be a bit more self reliant and individualistic than the city slicks. But, I have had an awful lot of fun explaining the 2nd Amendment, the US Constitution, and why I would rather be a seppo than a subject.

    Many, many of these types were very good listeners. Of course my exotic American accent enthralled them and they may have listened to whatever I was saying anyway. But I recall visiting a mining friend in McKay in 2005 - the major gun ban was about 10 years old then and he was still pissed. He pointed out in his backyard where a Taipan had come in from the sugar cane fields and was alarmingly close to his kids playing in the yard. He had to dispatch it with a shovel. That was all he had.
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    • Posted by $ jlc 10 years, 8 months ago
      Did your mining buddy just calmly hand over his personal weapons when the law was passed?

      Jan, puzzled
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      • Posted by Flootus5 10 years, 8 months ago
        Don't know for sure, but I doubt calmly. I'd be interested to know more about what the Aussie government did to enforce anything. Were there punitive threats of non-compliance? Were there prior gun registration laws? Could be very instructive. This is worth looking into.
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        • Posted by $ jlc 10 years, 8 months ago
          Yes, those are the very things I was wondering about too.

          It does not make sense that with the low population density of many of Australia's regions, and the time lapse necessary for the law to arrive, that the people would just jettison their personal weapons.

          Jan
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          • Posted by Flootus5 10 years, 8 months ago
            A quick look at Wikipedia confirms the complexity of the issue. I did not know there was a longer history of some level of control in Australia. Interesting that the federal government does not have the authority to enact gun control but apparently can force the States to do so.

            Also interesting was former PM John Howard's statements about not wanting Australia to follow down Americas path on the issue because he "hates guns, They are evil." Familiar irrationality - the failure to recognize that guns are not inherently evil, they are merely tools, good or bad deeds are done by the user.

            Makes me damn proud (again) of the US Constitution.

            As usual, there is a hint of bias in Wikipedia's treatment of the issue. "From the beginning there were controls on firearms" Well, what were they?

            And as usual, statistics are used by anyone to promote a point. Makes one wonder about the stats on ownership, registration, and buy back numbers.

            https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_politi...
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  • Posted by Lucky 10 years, 8 months ago
    Sen. David Leyonhjelm, Australia’s Liberal Democratic Party Senator. ( lib dem ~=libertarian)
    speaks for a very small minority (his party got my #1 vote) so 'Australia re-thinking' is misleading.
    I admit that this is not one of my prime concerns but gun ownership here is not illegal,
    I understand that it does require 'jumping thru hoops turning somersaults sideways' tho' to get a license.
    The Sydney cafe jihadist did not have a license.

    Facts: we have a relatively low number of crime incidents involving guns, in cases of crime with guns offenders do not have a license,
    licensed gun holders are unlikely to be in any kind of crime. Our culture on this topic is quite different to that of Americans.
    I am not sure what these facts prove-
    It could be the law is weak, or weakly enforced, or should not exist.
    The whole topic of of administration re that jihadist puts Australia in a bad light, from the moment he stepped ashore, to ignoring info from the Iranian government about his criminal past, to letting him out on bail after the murder of his wife, sexual assault convictions, to giving him welfare.. etc.
    To be cynical I could say if he had applied for a gun license one would have been given!
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    • Posted by Robbie53024 10 years, 8 months ago
      Outlawing something always leads to law abiding citizens not having the ability, and those who flout the law having said ability. When it pertains to weapons, that puts the law-abiding citizens at risk. When it pertains to drugs or alcohol (or other in demand items) it results in the law-breakers making substantial money.
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    • Posted by wiggys 10 years, 8 months ago
      the 2nd amendment of the usa should also be in Australia and England.
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      • Posted by freedomforall 10 years, 8 months ago
        In my opinion, most Australians (the urban majority) would oppose such an amendment. Lots of rural people would support access to guns, but a small majority (imo) would not oppose registration and licensing. Australia does not have the history of mistrust of government that exists in America. They did not go to war for liberty. They did not conquor the land by force of arms. They do not have a navy or army capable of defending it from invasion. They trust their "leaders" much more than Americans.
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  • Posted by Esceptico 10 years, 8 months ago
    My somewhat limited experience with Aussies is they think of guns as rattlesnakes which are inherently dangerous as distinct from tools which can do good in the right hands and bad in the wrong hands. Pretty much goes along with the attitude of “I do not want any responsibility for anything” they also projected to me. Indeed, they are the perfect victims.
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  • Posted by Temlakos 10 years, 8 months ago
    It means only Australia is now getting a libertarian political movement. If you want evidence of a rethink, see how many votes he gets.
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