29 YEARS AGO TODAY, THE PORT ARTHUR MASSACRE IN AUSTRALIA PROMPTED REAL GUN LAWS
29 years ago, today in Port Arthur, Tasmania, Australia, the country suffered its worst mass shooting in history. But there was one positive outcome, which was that Australia reacted quickly by enacting strict gun laws only a month later. While Australia was already considering tightening their laws for gun ownership, the Port Arthur Massacre inspired the nation to protect its citizens. Australia hasn’t had a mass shooting since. I can’t help thinking about this every time there is a mass shooting here in the United State, especially when experts and pundits say strict gun laws here won’t make a difference, or even demand proof that it could.
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THE PORT ARTHUR MASSACRE IS PROOF THAT YOU CAN PREVENT MASS SHOOTINGS
But Australia is proof, and Americans need to start being aware of this precedent, that it actually worked, and just why it is that we can’t have an honest conversation about gun violence and stricter gun laws at the national level. Instead, we are redirected to mental health concerns, while making no suggestions on how to provide more resources for those in need. But the Port Arthur Massacre involved an intellectually disabled man, Martin Bryant, who started stockpiling guns. And in his mass shooting, he killed 35 people, and injured 18 more. In Australia, that caused a reaction that has protected the public ever since. In the United States, we’re just encouraged to pray for the victims and their families.
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AMERICAN MASS SHOOTINGS IS AN ENDLESS LIST, WITH NEW ADDITIONS LIKELY AT ANY TIME, WHY?
The Waco Siege in 1993 saw 86 dead, 27 injured. In 2007, the Virginia Tech shooting saw 32 dead, 23 injured. Sandy Hook in 2012: 26 dead, 2 injured. 2016’s Pulse Nightclub shooting in Orlando: 49 dead, 58 injured. And the Las Vegas mass shooting in 2017? 60 dead and 867 injured. All of these numbers are truly horrific. But that’s the nature of mass shootings. Yet the true horror is how this is now normal in the United States, despite the fact that the reaction to the Port Arthur Massacre is proof that actions speak louder than words. Or prayers. And for those gun enthusiasts, yes, people still buy and own guns in Australia.
But almost no semi or fully automatic weapons. And today in history, America will have more mass shootings in a host of tomorrows.
