Politics and Money

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When guns are easily available, people easily commit murder

Posted on September 28, 2010

America has a gun homicide rate about 15 times greater than Australia. Australians have been protected from the tragic gun madness of the USA by our stricter gun laws. The stricter laws were enacted in Australia after 32 were murdered by shooters in 1987, 41 were murdered by shooters in 1996 and two were murdered by a shooter in 1992.

The main consequence of the stricter gun controls is that now Australia’s annual gun death rate is only about one third of what it was during the previous two to three decade period when shooter groups dominated government thinking in developing gun laws.

To us in Gun Control Australia, the evidence suggests that there are many hundreds of Australians alive now who may not have been if groups like the Sporting Shooters Association of Australia (SSAA) had been listened to about gun laws. The beliefs of this pro-gun group with its associations to international gun traders, seem to us, to be directed at helping the world’s gun manufacturers make more profit, more so than helping Australia become a safer society.

Like some other shooter groups, the SSAA sets its sights on American style gun laws. Guns may be more freely available in America but not unexpectedly gun murders are vastly more common. The Brady Center in Washington gives us a good idea of what results from American gun laws. Their website (http://www.bradycenter.org/) lists some of the workplace gun killings in 2010.

Please read these details and ask yourself: Why would Australia’s largest gun club (the SSAA) want American style gun laws?

USA Workplace Shootings in 2010

On Wednesday night, a 26-year-old man shot three coworkers in the cafeteria of a cold-storage facility in Crete .. http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ivjLM5zZKo0L27hCCaU5ZHrHqmtgD9IDRSG80 , Nebraska before killing himself. Police are still investigating the shooter’s motive. Does this sound familiar? Many workplace shootings take place every year, and certainly 2010 has been no different. Here are just a few of the major workplace shootings from this year:

Two weeks ago, a woman shot three colleagues at a cookie factory in Philadelphia .. http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iFK9CR8fFn0QDUYxm6ST6jHN_lQQD9I5BS100 , after arguing with them and being suspended from her job. Two of the victims died. The shooter had a valid concealed carry permit and had a gun in her car that she retrieved after being suspended.

Last month, a 35-year-old man opened fire at a Connecticut beer distribution plant after a disciplinary hearing where he resigned for stealing from the company. He killed eight people and injured two others, before killing himself. The shooter complained to family and friends about racism at work.

In March, a disgruntled janitor in danger of losing his job shot and killed his supervisor, injured a coworker, and killed himself at Ohio State University .. http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hTqEJrIA1uT5M41PanfbCPwN7c5QD9ICI6L00 . He had a criminal history, and obtained his guns by avoiding background checks- at least one of the guns he obtained went through a gun show, the other through private sellers.

In February, a University of Alabama professor opened fire during a biology faculty meeting, shooting six colleagues, three fatally .. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/21/us/21bishop.html . She had recently been denied tenure, had a history of violent reactions, and shot her brother when she was a teenager.

And, in January, a 51-year-old man armed with an assault rifle, shotgun and pistol opened fire at a St. Louis factory .. http://more.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/laworder/story/989a862e6088e33e862576a5001b6bd0?OpenDocument .. where he was a longtime employee. Neighbors report he was angry at management. He killed three coworkers and injured five others before he killed himself.

All of these shooters turned to guns as a way to solve their problems at work .. http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20100701/NEWS07/100709955/1031/BIZ , leading to an incredible amount of bloodshed and tears. In just these six incidents, 17 coworkers were killed and 15 more injured. Four of the shooters committed suicide afterward.

It’s no wonder that an Indiana steel company decided to disregard a new state law forcing companies to allow workers to store guns in their cars at work. Instead, they have chosen to “strictly enforce its firearms ban”. While they may get sued, a lawsuit is certainly a better outcome than a shooting.

All this horror suggests that we ask the president of the SSAA:

Why does the SSAA want American style gun laws?

http://guncontrol.org.au/2010/09/when-guns-are-easily-available-people-easily-commit-murder/

So you've learned that Australia has violent criminal gangs, too. Congratulations.