Thoughts on Australia’s gun laws

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

This sentence applies to every person on earth. Not just the citizens of the United States.

Obturation said:

American patriots see the gun debate differently than anyone else. Our rights come from God , not men. That leads to the conclusion that all gun laws are infringement and anyone who seeks to disarm the population intends to do us harm. I know the rest of the planet may not understand that but it's how many of us see it here . Australia is unbelievably horrible on gun laws but to be honest I feel the USA is pretty darn restrictive too. Might be time to check the power of our overlords again.

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I am not religious but I hold the same belief that the right to be armed and defend ones self is inherent and inalienable.

Mosin77 said:

I know there are plenty of guys there who shoot the old SMLE and No. 4 mk 1/2s to a very high standard!

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The No. 4's would have to have been imported, because Australia never produced No. 4's. Lithgow kept cranking out SMLE's throughout WW2. (I had one once, but unfortunately I turned it into to a sporter, and then sold it.)

Mighty Mitch said:

Every state allows the buy them but semi auto centrefire and pump/semi shottys are for pest control trip businesses, Rimfire semis and under 5 mag capacity pump and semi shotguns. Every legal citizen over 18 can get a handgun license for sport shooting, most allow to keep it at home, then the general license is your standard non pump/semi shotgun and your standard bolt action, Lever action rifle.

ps we anyone with a license can have lever shottys but max 6 shots, also super excited lately we’ve been getting these shotguns called push button/ lever release and there almost as fast as a semi auto

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Licensed hunting is why I said "for the most part."

I used to follow this guy on YouTube (well, his channel is still there but he hasn't posted anything for years) called Steve Lee (steeveleeilikeguns) who was a licensed professional hunter, and he had quite the assortment of semiauto rifles licensed for his profession. Then his state decided to take away his license and he lost all of his semiautos.

Big Brother giveth, and Big Brother taketh away...

BlueHeelerFl said:

I thought lever action rifles were legal in Australia?

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I'm not an expert in Australian gun laws, or the laws of their individual states or territories, but it was my understanding that just as it was theoretically possible to get a carry license in NYC (pre Bruen anyway), it is theoretically possible to license a lever action, but there are many restrictions on ownership. I was apparently not correct on this.

The big difference is that Australia doesn't have the overriding obsession with guns, as does the U.S. In the U.S., guns are a stand-in for many other issues (mostly having to do with personal autonomy). I don't get the impression that that's true in Australia. (In fact, come to think of it, no place in the world has that dynamic, except America.)

That's because no place in the world ever had the prescient minds we had establishing our system of government. (The senatorial republic that was Rome prior to Sulla's dictatorship regime was close, and the Founding Fathers used much of it, and added more safeguards) Unfortunately, for generations the progressive movement aided by Communists, (or the other way around, but the progressives started the ball rolling) have been working to dismantle the guarantee of freedom The Constitution, and more precisely, the Bill of Rights bestows upon Americans.

entropy said:

That's because no place in the world ever had the prescient minds we had establishing our system of government. (The senatorial republic that was Rome prior to Sulla's dictatorship regime was close, and the Founding Fathers used much of it, and added more safeguards) Unfortunately, for generations the progressive movement aided by Communists, (or the other way around, but the progressives started the ball rolling) have been working to dismantle the guarantee of freedom The Constitution, and more precisely, the Bill of Rights bestows upon Americans.

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I agree. IMHO; Free, thoughtful, informed people are made into boogeymen; falsely becoming a serious threat to those who lust for power and control. Once those types of egomaniacal people attain positions of authority, they do all they can to hang onto it. Constant restrictions (including more draconian firearms laws) and the “banning” of actions or physical things are proof of their never-ending quest to keep them in control (and paid!) and keep you in your place.

This is true for all races and in all nations, from Russia to Rwanda, America to Australia.

Unfortunately for those good people in Australia (or Canada or New Zealand) they didn’t have a Constitution with rights spelled out like we do and a court system balancing out legislative zealotry, so knee jerk reactions by the people trying to keep their power resulted in the gun-grabbing situations they find themselves in today.

I wish them all well.

Stay safe.

AlexanderA said:

The big difference is that Australia doesn't have the overriding obsession with guns, as does the U.S. In the U.S., guns are a stand-in for many other issues (mostly having to do with personal autonomy). I don't get the impression that that's true in Australia. (In fact, come to think of it, no place in the world has that dynamic, except America.)

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Far too many people around the world are willing to give up most of their personal autonomy to appease governments that really don't care about them.

BlueHeelerFl said:

Far too many people around the world are willing to give up most of their personal autonomy to appease governments that really don't care about them.

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This is it in a nutshell. Most governments everywhere of anything larger than a city-state don’t care a whit about the people, except in a limited sense of “if something really bad happens I may lose my job or my head.” But these days arms restriction is a go-to talking point that’s useful for elected figureheads to pretend they care. “We want to reduce violent crime.” Bonus points that the more successful they are the less likely they are to lose their head even if things get bad.

The world has a huge “crab in a bucket” mentality when it comes to the US and many of our rights, particularly when it comes to the RKBA enshrined in our constitution.

Many are content to be in their gilded cages, but that doesn’t make them any less envious when they see a bird that is happily living a free, albeit riskier, life.

If I lived in Oz I would want a AR just for the spiders.

entropy said:

(The senatorial republic that was Rome prior to Sulla's dictatorship regime was close, and the Founding Fathers used much of it, and added more safeguards)

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The Roman republic and the early American republic had this in common: they were run by the propertied classes. In America, the common people didn't come into their own until the age of Andrew Jackson, at the earliest. Ironically, if America was still run by the propertied classes, we probably wouldn't have gun rights today. Of all the segments of society, guns are most important to the middle and lower-middle classes. They're the ones who are feeling put upon, disrespected, and dispossessed. (Being called "deplorables" clinches it.) Guns are one of the few ways they can assert their individual autonomy. Having guns means that, if worst comes to worst, they can still stand up for themselves.

AlexanderA said:

The Roman republic and the early American republic had this in common: they were run by the propertied classes. In America, the common people didn't come into their own until the age of Andrew Jackson, at the earliest. Ironically, if America was still run by the propertied classes, we probably wouldn't have gun rights today. Of all the segments of society, guns are most important to the middle and lower-middle classes. They're the ones who are feeling put upon, disrespected, and dispossessed. (Being called "deplorables" clinches it.) Guns are one of the few ways they can assert their individual autonomy. Having guns means that, if worst comes to worst, they can still stand up for themselves.

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If you look at the average worth of a Congressman, Senator and/or President, they’re all of the “ propertied class”… and if on a rare occasion they aren’t when they walk in, they darn well are when they leave.

Stay safe.

AlexanderA said:

The Roman republic and the early American republic had this in common: they were run by the propertied classes. In America, the common people didn't come into their own until the age of Andrew Jackson, at the earliest. Ironically, if America was still run by the propertied classes, we probably wouldn't have gun rights today. Of all the segments of society, guns are most important to the middle and lower-middle classes. They're the ones who are feeling put upon, disrespected, and dispossessed. (Being called "deplorables" clinches it.) Guns are one of the few ways they can assert their individual autonomy. Having guns means that, if worst comes to worst, they can still stand up for themselves.

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I agree with Riomouse; for the most part, politicians are "the monied class", or at least the visible part of it. And their goal is disarming the "unwashed masses", minus a few outliers in the political system that actually still believe in the United States Constitution. There are dang few Cincinnatuses left in this world, men who can wield power, then step away from it when the job is done.

Far too stringent. I also worked along several military Aussies while I was in our military. They asked questions about our gun laws and we asked about theirs. All of the Aussies I talked with considered ours were better, after they understood where our gun laws were. There was a lot of genuine misinformation about US gun laws conveyed to Australia. Those Aussies didn't really like the idea of permit less carry but wanted something in the middle. Usually in favor of competency tests and range times. What they have now is a nightmare even by some of our standards like NY and NJ.

Australia's gun laws suck, so do Canada's and Great Britain's.

Mighty Mitch said:

Was only asking what Americans think as I was curious, as I said I love guns and love hunting

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Well Mate Aussie laws are like PM's a bunch of wankers ,My Honest opinion . Those laws prevented My Wife and Myself from retiring there !.

So I sold 12 hectares in Woorim ,not far from the CSIRO ,when it was determined I wouldn't be allowed to import my firearms .

I bought that property in early 80 as I worked down under for some of the largest Aussie concerns . Allen Taylor ,Duncans , Carrick's & Sons BMI to name but a few . Mostly out of NSW but also out of QLD as well . FYI : I liked the Lads and Skirts but Not the greenies ,do miss the Toohey's Old & New ,as I'd have pint of half & half or 6 I realized early in 2K's tide of liberal Unionjacks sidelined most True Australians ,just like Democrats in the States are attempting to do Now . It's a sad state of affairs when Gov.'s dictate too the People ,rather than People dictating too THEIR GOVERNMENT

Unfortunately, many formerly "free" countries around the world seem to be going down the same path. Many have never even been able to make a start of it as they have almost always been a "subjugated people" having grown from the old monarchical and feudal systems. Based on current actions, I believe that we (the U.S.) are in the last two lines of the following. This was postulated by Prof. Alexander Tyler in 1787, a Scottish professor at the University of Edinburgh, regarding "The Fall of the Athenian Republic".

From Bondage to spiritual faith;
From spiritual faith to great courage;
From courage to liberty;
From liberty to abundance;
From abundance to complacency;
From complacency to apathy;
From apathy to dependence;
From dependence back into bondage.

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The FUDDS in the US— allegedly pro Sec Amendment gun owners— are too self-centered to care about losing more of our gun rights.

They probably support The Big Guy’s comment about simply using a shotgun for home/ self-defense.