Re: Legislators Weigh Changes To Gun Laws
I agree with that, except to the extent that America exports such a powerful gun culture to other countries through its movies, TV shows, and computer games, as well as through its law enforcement practices and products.<br /><br />When I was a kid in the 50's and early 60's it wasn't a big deal to see people carrying rifles here, cased or not, on public transport or in the street. Nobody got scared because you knew the bloke was just going up the bush to go shooting. I can remember being about ten or so and very proudly walking up to the gun store about half a mile away taking my old man's rifle for repair. Nobody thought anything of it. At the same time the cops weren't armed at all, let alone carrying visible weapons, except on special permission from a superior.<br /><br />The situation now is completely reversed. People see a civilian with a gun and there's panic, and rightly so in a lot of cases. Now our cops have exposed pistols and OC spray and extendable batons and soon tasers on their belts, just like the US. They also have adopted US training which is much more aggressive than what we used to have. Shootings by police have been out of control in my state for several periods over the last 15 years. A lot of it is attributable to some outrageous murders of police, which in turn were attributable to what some people say were pretty much executions of criminals by police. Whatever the cause, it's clear that arming police and training them to make sure it's not them that gets hurt has resulted in a far, far higher rate of shootings by police and of police than we ever had before. Where years ago an unarmed copper was forced to talk a situation down, now some of them will just shut it down with a bullet. <br /><br />So our kids see this from one of the most powerful authority figures around. They see endless TV shows and movies where producing a gun is the way to control people and shooting them is an effective resolution of any problem. They play endless computer games which give the same message and desensitise them to inflicting harm on others. Then there's blanket publicity every time there's a gun massacre. And then some disturbed kid walks into a school and starts shooting other kids and teachers and people wonder what on earth could have given the kid the idea? <br /><br />Meanwhile the wowsers get all wound up about sex in movies etc, which has yet to result in one recorded instance of anyone being inspired to root someone else to death, although I'm prepared to volunteer as the first person to attempt the offence. <br /><br />I think that ultimately the gun issue is less about gun control than instilling responsible attitudes to guns and conflict resolution and a whole range of other issues about attitudes and conduct. Maybe then we could go back to my childhood when the police weren't armed and people could carry a firearm without causing panic and nobody here had ever heard of a firearm massacre. But as long as "entertainment" keeps pumping out the "shooting solves problems" message and a tiny number of people with access to guns do profound harm to others with guns, gun control will have to do for those of us, in any country, who aren't comfortable with the prospect of loonies getting their hands on guns.
Its amazing that the USA was founded by people wanting to be free, and yours was founded as a penal colony, essentially a giant prison. <br /><br /><br />I ain't trashing ya achris, or any other Ausie. You are very adament about your position, and I am mine. I don't see either of us changing our minds anytime soon. Have a good day mate.