References

The United States is going through a gun violence crisis. An epidemic which is engulfing many lives and there seems to be no end to it . American citizens live in constant fear of another attack, which can happen anywhere: schools, colleges, clubs, malls, and a church.

America is fast becoming a dangerous home-ground for gun violence with children often being the targets . Here is a list of the recent massacres, organized by year[1] -

· 58 killed in Las Vegas in 2017

· 26 killed at the Sutherland Springs church in 2017

· 49 killed in Orlando at the Pulse nightclub in 2016

· 14 Killed in San Bernardino in 2015

· 32 killed at Virginia Tech in 2007

· 27 killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012

The country is reeling from the aftermath of these deadly killings and with over 154 incidents of mass shooting in 2018 alone, the question on many American minds is — how and when will the gun violence end?

Australia — A success story?

The US is not the only country that is dealing with this problem. Australia has also been the epicenter of killings over the years. The continent had seen around 11 mass shootings in the decade before 1996, but the one incident that tipped the scale was at Port Arthur, Tasmania. In April of 1996, a 28-year-old young man went on shooting spree with a semi- automatic rifle, killing 35 people and injuring 23. Came to be known as the worst mass shooting on the continent, this incident was a turning point in the history of gun violence in Australia.

Australian lesson on Gun control- The Buy Back Program

This violent massacre shook the Australian continent to its core, and the government vowed to take action under increasing public pressure. Under the leadership of the Prime Minister, John Howard, the Australian government introduced ‘The National Firearms Agreement’ in 1996.This agreement introduced the gun buyback program [2] to buy back semi-automatic and automatic guns from gun owners across the country.

The agreement also outlined rules for registration of firearms and licensing of each gun owner. The policy emphasized that “personal protection” would not be regarded as a “genuine reason” for owning, possessing, or using a firearm [3] .The government raised about $500 million[4] in funds for the whole program by levying Medicare taxes, and their efforts were met with significant success.

Current state of affairs in Australia

The Australian government’s strong reaction and implementation of a strong gun law has had a positive impact on the country’s efforts to curb gun violence. With stricter enforcement, the number of guns bought back amounted to about 650,000 , by the end of October, 1997[4].

Including the number of suicides declining, the introduction of gun laws led to a sharp decline in deaths due to gun violence. Homicides by gun dropped by 59 percent (refer to the figure below) while suicides by gun dropped by 65 percent between 1995 and 2006.

Ray of Hope for the US?

With such a strong gun culture, is there a possibility to implement a buyback program in USA?

With deep rooted political interests and the constitutional right to bear arms to protect oneself and their families, replicating the Australian feat could be a challenge for United States government. Let’s address the two sides to the gun debate first- legal and ideological.

LEGAL- Research suggests strong links between right to carry laws and surge in fire arms crime. A 2017 National Bureau of Economic Research working paper estimates that 10 years after the adoption of right-to-carry laws, gun related violent crime is 13% to 15% higher than it would have been without those policies [5]. Meanwhile, research published in JAMA Internal Medicine in early March found that strong firearms laws in a state, such as background checks for all private sales and restrictions on multiple purchases, were associated with lower rates of gun homicides [5].

Suggestions: The government should pass gun laws that effectively decrease gun violence like-

1.Start by raising the purchasing age limit to 21: This proposal has been introduced but has not gained much traction in Congress.The NRA,which considers increasing the age to be an attack on the Second Amendment, is actively opposing any change in legislation.However, NRA’s influence, particularly its political influence is already contentious as they spend millions every year as contributions to both the parties in Congress, especially the GOP.

2.Ban of bump stocks and assault weapons.Bump stocks are attachments which allow a weapon to fire at nearly the rate of a machine gun without technically converting it to a fully automatic firearm.They are not banned under Federal law and most recently came under light as the gunmen at the Las Vegas shooting had 12 rifles which were modified with a bump stock.

3.Extensive background checks: The current President has promised to implement extensive background checks for acquiring firearms with special emphasis on ensuring that mentally ill people can not acquire guns. However, he has not been able to implement that yet.

IDEOLOGICAL- Often we hear in the aftermath of a deadly mass shooting -”Definitely, the massacre and suffering are brutal enough so that now they’ll feel obliged to support gun law reforms.”The reality is in contrast to this conventional emotional mechanism. To a gun advocate, another mass shooting is not an argument for getting rid of guns, but it is a confirmation of his/her fears about not being able to protect himself and his family, and thus is another reason to arm him/herself in order to defend his/her right and life. The gun control argument is twofold — (1) about fear for one’s life, and (2) about losing one’s constitutional rights. Unless we comprehend that two-fold position and address it, it will remain a conflict with no amicable solution.

But this can be addressed by an overwhelming political movement. Massive awareness campaigns should be organized to educate the citizens about the measures presented in this blog.March for Our lives,a movement that advocates for common-sense gun reform including background checks, bans on semi-automatic weapons, and raising the age to buy firearms, started by the survivors of the deadly Parkland shooting, has emerged as the biggest demonstration yet of student activism and is becoming symbolic of efforts to bring about change in the US gun culture.Also, please support gun violence research by ensuring that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and others have the resources to study this issue and provide science-based information on this issue.

The national mood is changing. Accustomed to inaction by Congress after deadly mass shootings , students across the nation have begun protesting. Increased pressure to act has prompted many states in the US to take concrete action to toughen state gun laws. Gov. Gina Raimondo of Rhode Island signed an executive order, this Feb 2018, to ‘establish a policy to take guns away from people who pose a danger to themselves or others. Now Rhode Island has been joined by Connecticut, Massachusetts, California, Maryland, DC, Colorado, New Jersey and New York in a coalition to combat gun violence.

Some people may point out that Australia is a different country , however, there are some parallels that can be drawn between the 2 countries.Both countries share a colonial history in which weapons were considered imperative to protecting lives and assets. Similar to NRA , the strongest gun lobby in the country , Australia has Sporting Shooters Association of Australia (SSAA) and the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party (SFF), whose focus is primarily on hunting rather than self-defense, organisations that have been lobbying to rectify the current legislation.Australia also dealt with slacking gun violence protocols and background checks and variations of regulations across states, very similar to the US.

Regardless of our political ideologies, I think we can all agree that we should join hands to reach a solution for this imminent threat. And a silver lining to this cloud of violence can be by taking valuable lessons from steps taken by Australia to suppress and contain the evil of guns and the violence associated with them. Australia has been dealing with gun violence for a very long time, but it might just be an example that we should follow.

[1] Violence Policy Center, Gun Violence Archive; FBI 2014 Study of Active Shooter Incidents; published reports

[4]The Gun Buy Back Scheme,

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