Just shows how stupid people can be and how unrepresentative politicians can be we have the so called leader of the free world pushing to control guns in the USA but a totally stupid senate and is preventing gun control and as a result of this are effectively supporting the murder of children, Australia certainly got it right after the port Arthur massacre.

I just saw the American president saying the we are more sane in OZ than US. I LIKE Obama, but what can you do when the right to bear arms is in your constitution. Howard did the right thing after port Arthur, and OZ is a safer place. I am military trained, and don,t see the need to have semi auto arms in my posetion. My only enemies are sharks and crocs, and the odd mossie.Its a sad reflection on the gun culture in the US.People will continue to be killed until the US gets some sanity in its gun laws. Bill

Having been to the U.S. The gun culture is down south in Minnesota the farm family that our daughter stayed for 12 months had never owned or even fired a gun, never seen a sign shot in 5000 miles of travel up there in the 4 states we traveled through so not all yanks are gun tooting morons however I do agree they have to do something to control who is sane enough to own a firearm over there.
Speeking as a farmer I were not over impressed with Howard's gun laws for semi auto guns being the owner of a 12 gauge and .22 semi autos for farm use only when spotlighting for foxes I like to be able to keep shooting till I get them, yeah ok so I'm a lousy shot some times but having seen them waiting for a lamb to be born so they can eat it as its born I have no love for foxes.
I do however agree that millatary style autos should never been allowed in civilian hands full stop as in port Arthur there simply is no need for such rapid fire wepons any where but a war zone.
Also having just watched our own news we have an emerging problem of our own I wonder was the gun used here a registered gun ?

Notice how many stabbings there are nowdays.Scum will always find a way to do harm no matter what the gun laws are.I wonder how many people in the states die of stab wounds.Just found out 1600 approx per year.

1600 stabbings and we don't know how many of those victims dies nor what year this represents. Compare this to the 11078 gun related homicides in the US in 2010 (and many more if suicides and accidents are included) - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_violence_in_the_United_States. The number of stabbing pales a little.

Dave

Gun shooting in U.S. Is not recorded as mass shooting unless 4 people are shot including the original shooter..
So US statistics could be way worse !!

Lobbyists all say farmers need guns. My farming in-laws do not have guns and will not let anyone onto their farms to shoot anything - roos, rabbits, foxes etc. fearing that that any shot may hit something unexpectedly. In reality, I wonder how many farmers are actually quizzed or are gun lobbyists just quoting statements from the past - like the Yank bearing arms 400 years ago and still quoting that excuse.