Gun Laws: America still refusing to follow in the footsteps of Australia The United States of America, the nation that prides itself on freedom, peace and opportunity. However, the United States is also the nation that includes the ‘right to bear arms’ as its second amendment, and the nation that has suffered 83 tragic mass shootings in which 4 or more people were killed since 1982. Not to mention the shootings in which 3 or less were killed.
That is 634 deaths by mass shootings alone since 1982.
Columbine, Virginia Tech, Sandy Hook, Aurora Theatre, Orlando… The list goes on. These are the names associated with some of the deadliest mass shootings in U.S history. Most recently, the Orlando massacre, the shocking hate crime that cut short
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Half of the issue is the way American citizens view firearms. Many Americans argue that their right to bear arms gives them ‘freedom’ and a way to protect themselves. The ironic truth is that without such a readily available source of guns, there wouldn’t be anywhere near as much crime to be protected from.
The gun ownership rates in America are shocking. The U.S. hold the highest gun ownership per capita rate in the world, with an average of about nine guns for every 10 Americans. There are over 270 million privately owned firearms in the U.S., more than any other country in the world. It makes sense that the more guns in a country, the more gun deaths.
Source: Small Arms Survey (Max Fisher/Washington Post). Number of guns per 100 people in ‘developed’
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Source: Business insider, total Gun deaths in Australia before and after the 1996 gun law
Australia still has gun violence, but compared Port Arthur and American shootings such as Orlando, the rates are greatly reduced. When it comes to Australia’s relatively gun-safe society, Australians have Howard to be thankful for.
Gun control advocates in the United States of America including powerful figures such as presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, have cited Australia as a good example to follow for gun control. Australia saw the Port Arthur massacre as the fuel to the fire for putting a stop to mass shootings. America needs to use Orlando as that same spark, 49 lives is 49 too many and it needs to be the last mass shooting the U.S ever sees.
Several American politicians are inspired by Howard’s example, including Barack Obama and Hilary Clinton. Obama has pleaded in the past “We know that other countries, in response to one mass shooting, have been able to craft laws that almost eliminate mass