Australian Prime Minister John Howard (courtesy cnn.com)

“I’ll naturally wait and see what the inquiry recommends but anything that to me looks as though it waters down the laws that are in place now I won’t support and I will argue that the government shouldn’t support because the experience with these things is when you’ve had a ban in for a long period of time and it’s worked. This ban has been so successful, and is so widely respected around the world, that I would not want any government in Australia to do anything that would weaken it.” – Former Australian Prime Minister John Howard in Fears Port Arthur gun laws could be diluted [via news.com.au]

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31 COMMENTS

  1. It seems that once that gun control box is checked and the right to bear arms is no longer a right then no amount of inquiries, evidence, facts, statistics, etc. will allow the box to be unchecked.

    Remember that next time an Australian style law is proposed.

    • It ain’t just guns. Governments hoard power, and will not give up any of it, no matter how miniscule or trivial, without a fight.

  2. The scroll under the lead picture is more telling than anything he actually said in this article.

    “We have the same popular culture as America.”

    Last I checked, we don’t have a British monarch on OUR currency. And the events causing that subtle difference mean we have SIGNIFICANTLY different popular culture.

    The difference between a subject and a citizen.

    • I’ve been to Australia several times and have native born Australian friends, so I feel that I can say with confidence, Americans and Austrialians are very different.

      I’ve always viewed American culture in the same light as Texas culture; Texas has roots in southern culture, but it’s not the south, America has roots in Euro culture, but it’s not Euro.

      I’ll tell you what though, they have some good looking ladies down under.

      • And lots of them (ladies), too due to emigration of males, which if we’re being honest, is probably why gun control has gone completely nuts down under. Not that ladies can’t/don’t defend themselves, but historically they seem prone to surrendering freedom for safety even more than men.

    • Other than the occasional visit by members of the royal family and the queens face on our currency, there is bugger all impact that the monarchy has on our day to day life.

      The point Little Johnny was making is that most of the successful movies and TV shows over here are American made and the chattering classes all follow celebrity bs like the Kardashians. He’s trying to claim that we are so alike that if we had your infinitely superior gun laws, and freedom of speech protections etc. then we would all be murdering each other in the streets like you guys apparently do every day of the week.

      He is a typical politician who used a tragedy to push his own agenda through and is now terrified that an inquiry will reduce or eliminate his “legacy”.

      Considering we have had more terrorist attacks in the last 18 months (using restricted or black market guns) I think is feel safer living in the USA.

      • Any comparison between Australia and America must first be dissected into ethnic and racial groups. In America, less than 13% of the population commit half of the murders, predominantly in the jurisdictions with the strictest gun control. Another 17% of the population also has a much higher murder rate than the majority ethnic/racial group. On the other hand, Australia didn’t even let non-whites immigrate until 1973. If you look at the murder rate in America among whites it’s very similar to the murder rates in Australia and western Europe. And whites in America have by far the highest rate of gun ownership on earth.

      • UnPC….. Shut your mouth and bow before your sovereign! The Overlord has decreed and you shall obey! Surrender your weapons and kneel before Xerxes!

      • If you take out suicides(which are independent of method), gangs(who will obtain firearms through other means) and justifiable homicides we have a firearm related death rate of less then .5 per 100,000. So as long as you don’t suffer from severe mental illness, don’t join a gang, don’t handle a gun like an idiot or while under the influence you are pretty safe.

    • There is no real difference between a “subject” and a “citizen.” They are both bound to the government as owned property. A “citizen” owes loyalty and, most obviously, a portion of their property (any portion the government wants, ultimately) to their “rulers,” whether a king or a president. And the thousands of layers of politicians and bureaucrats below them.

      Just try to exclude yourself from that herd, and the president’s (or “king’s”) men will promptly put you into a cage or kill you if you resist. Why would you want to be a “citizen?”

      • There are 2.7 million cops and uniformed military personnel (only 10% are trained frontline combatants) in this country with a comperable number of guns….. There are 350 million CITIZENS in this country with 400 million guns….assuming ALL of them are government stooges (ya right!), we still out number and out gun them 100 to 1.

  3. New Zealand’s gun crime went down too and they did nothing to restrict guns. Most gun crime, including Australia’s, was already trending down. Australia had no constitutional Right to Keep and Bear Arms to begin with.

    Hillary has promised Australian Style Gun Control. It means no semi or pump shotguns, no semi rifles, no pistols (except at special “clubs”), no weapon of any sort that looks even remotely “military”, and all pellet guns registered. Personal Defense is not considered an acceptable reason to possess a firearm as the police will defend you.

    Politician’s bodyguards are excepted from the laws, of course.

    Coming to the USA starting next spring.

    • The HildaBeast will ban all pistols except at clubs?

      20 years ago there was effectively no concealed carry.

      Now, the vast majority has it. She won’t like the pushback she’ll get on that one.

      No, first will come mandatory registration. You can guess how the rest will play out…

    • ‘Personal Defense is not considered an acceptable reason to possess a firearm as the police will defend you.’

      If they manage to show up before rigor mortis sets in.

    • All hail Hillary, Supreme Overlord, glory, glory, glory, unto you. It who allways was, and forever shall be. Let thine knowledge and wisdom sweep the earth, cast thy mightey hand upon the unbeilivers and repeal the guns of violence. All hail Hillary,Supreme Overlord, protector of fabrication and deceit, oppressor of rights,sealer of scrolls,let none block Your way. All hail Hillary

  4. “…This ban has been so successful, ”

    Compared to what?

    And at what cost?

    “..and is so widely respected around the world”

    So you make your laws based on what everyone else thinks about your laws? That’s just crazy talk! Laws aren’t supposed to be created in a popularity contest. And that might just be why you are still a subject to the Queen while we are a collection of Free Men.

    • To answer your questions:
      1. Compared to nothing, gun crime continued to tend down at the same rate it was previously. The use of firearms in suicide did drop significantly but hangings went up by the same amount cancelling the impact of that drop.
      2. Billions of dollars. They paid well over market rates during tuft confiscation as this was the only way to get owners to comply. They even paid for rusty non-functional shit which wasn’t even prohibited by the new laws. All guns handed in were destroyed, none of the still legal ones were sold to offset the cost of the confiscation.

      3. Yes they sure as shit do make laws based on public opinion, we are currently going through prime ministers faster than we do premiership winning football teams so all politicians are terrified of being unpopular and consequently replaced by their own parties or the public.

      4. We remain a monarchy because the royal family learned from the American War of Independence and stayed the hell out of politics in their Western colonies (and the subsequent nations they grew into) and it would cost alot to change to be a republic now when it would functionally change nothing.

  5. Anyone but Hillary people. Anyone but Hillary. (Sanders too but let’s face it the dude ain’t winning

  6. Am I the only one who went cross-eyed trying to figure out what that ramble was in specifically proposing? “No guns for you!”, I get it, but how, exactly?

    I did get the rationale at the end: “If we unwind any of the restrictions we have, we’ll look like schmucks to people who don’t live here, aren’t governed by these laws, and didn’t elect us. Also, America sux.”

    Ok, given all that, how did he spin it in terms of “better for Australians”, and aussie law?

  7. Sadly, history has shown that once a freedom or right is lost, only violence can bring it back.

  8. This ban has been so successful, and is so widely respected around the world, that I would not want any government in Australia to do anything that would weaken it.”
    Yes, the Statists of the world worship and adore Australia.

    • John Howard is proof that only /r selected morons should be forced to fight wars and not /K selected men as they go off and get killed and the /r selected are left alive and take over by default.

  9. “widely respected”

    What complete BS. Yes, respected by tyrants and elitists world wide, but not by people who have to live under a government that disrespects the will of the governed. Sir, may you have a seat in hell right next to others who have disarmed their people such as Stalin and Hitler.

  10. An ex politician trying to make himself seem relevant

    I own more firearms now than before the bans.

    As I have stated here before I don’t like the current laws and I surrended a Ruger 10/.22 but I still hunt etc as before

    The royal family has no authority but it’s better than several proposed changes where politicians would appoint themselves as president None of the Republic ideas put up let normal voters select the head of state. So I prefer the ones without any power

    • “I own more firearms now than before the bans.”

      I too made sure I came out the other side of 1996 with more than owned prior to Little Johnnies gun grab. (and many others)

      Johnny is Australia’s no. 1 Hoplophobe followed up his arz by the Greens Samantha Lee and her puppet David Shoebridge, who published information by suburb/postal code on on a map where the majority of guns were located in and around Sydney.. Lots of flack over that one and not finished yet.

  11. I am willing to bet he has armed body guards and his own personal arms made exempt of course because of his power.

  12. After California bans semiautomatics that take detachable box magazines, this will be them in twenty years. It also shows that there are no limits with the anti’s, that they will then claim lever-actions and so forth are just as capable as semiautomatics.

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