Gun laws of Australia
[21][22] The implication of this, which is unofficially referred to as the "Appearance Law", is that any gun, regardless of the actual mechanical nature of its action, may be reclassified into Category D or R/E if it is deemed to cosmetically resemble an assault rifle.[23][24] The states issue firearms licences for a legal reason, such as hunting, sport shooting, pest control, collecting and for farmers and farm workers.[37] In October 2016, it was estimated that there were 260,000 unregistered guns in Australia, 250,000 long arms and 10,000 handguns, most of them in the hands of organised crime groups and other criminals.The Port Arthur massacre took place in 1996 when the 29 year old gunman, Martin Bryant opened fire on shop owners and tourists with two semi-automatic rifles that left 35 people dead and 23 wounded.[56] On 15–16 December 2014, gunman Man Haron Monis, held hostage 17 customers and employees of a Lindt chocolate café located at Martin Place in Sydney, Australia.[63] The amnesty had been approved in March 2017 by the Firearms and Weapons Policy Working Group (FWPWG) to reduce the number of unregistered firearms in Australia following the Lindt Cafe siege in 2014, and the 2015 shooting of an unarmed police civilian finance worker outside the New South Wales Police Force headquarters in Parramatta, Sydney.[71][72] Polling shows strong support for gun legislation in Australia with around 85 to 90% of people wanting the same or greater level of restrictions.[81] In 1981, Richard Harding, after reviewing Australian and other data at that time, said that "whatever arguments might be made for the limitation or regulation of the private ownership of firearms, suicide patterns do not constitute one of them.[82] " He quoted a 1968 international analysis of 20 developed countries "cultural factors appear to affect suicide rates far more than the availability and use of firearms.[87] In 2005, Don Weatherburn of the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research stated that the 1996 legislation had little to no effect on violence saying the "laws did not result in any acceleration of the downward trend in gun homicide."[88][89] Multiple studies have been conducted by Jeanine Baker and Samara McPhedran, researchers with the International Coalition for Women in Shooting and Hunting (WiSH).In 2006 their paper on the 1996 firearms legislation in the British Journal of Criminology used an ARIMA analysis and found little evidence for an impact of the laws on homicide, but did for suicide.[90] Don Weatherburn described the article as "reputable" and "well-conducted" but also stated that "it would be wrong to infer from the study that it does not matter how many guns there are in the community."[72] In 2006, Weatherburn noted the importance of actively policing illegal firearm trafficking and argued that there was little evidence that the new laws had helped in this regard.[93] A 2006 study coauthored by Simon Chapman concluded: "Australia's 1996 gun law reforms were followed by more than a decade free of fatal mass shootings, and accelerated declines in firearm deaths, particularly suicides.David Hemenway and Mary Vriniotis of Harvard University, funded by the Joyce Foundation, summarised the research in 2011 and concluded: “it would have been difficult to imagine more compelling future evidence of a beneficial effect.” They said that a complication in evaluating the effect of the NFA was that gun deaths were falling in the early 1990s.[98] In a 2013 report from the Australian Institute of Criminology, Samantha Bricknell, Frederic Lemieux and Tim Prenzler compared mass shootings between America and Australia and found the "1996 NFA coincided within the cessation of mass shooting events" in Australia, and that there were reductions in America that were evident during the 1994–2004 US Federal Assault Weapons Ban."[102] In 2016, a study by Adam Lankford, associate professor of criminal justice, examined the links between public mass shootings and gun availability in various countries."[104] After this study, these researchers were reported in the Journal of Experimental Criminology in connection with another study with Charles Branas at Columbia University which concluded; "Current evidence showing decreases in firearm mortality after the 1996 Australian national firearm law relies on an empirical model that may have limited ability to identify the true effects of the law.Following the Port Arthur massacre, the Howard government (1996–2007), with strong media and public support, introduced uniform gun laws with the cooperation of all the states, brought about through threats to Commonwealth funding arrangements.[106][107][108] In one interview on Sydney radio station 2GB, Howard said, "We will find any means we can to further restrict them because I hate guns... ordinary citizens should not have weapons.In a television interview shortly before the 10th anniversary of the Port Arthur massacre, he reaffirmed his stance, "I did not want Australia to go down the American path.During the same television interview, Howard also stated that he saw the outpouring of grief in the aftermath of the Port Arthur massacre as "an opportunity to grab the moment and think about a fundamental change to gun laws in this country".[112][113] In March 2018, Victorian Police were set to be armed with military-style semi-automatic rifles to combat terrorism and the increase in gun-related crime.[119][120][121][122][123] In response, One Nation leader Pauline Hanson condemned the documentary as a Qatar hit piece and announced that she had filed a complaint with the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation.They argue that they have been made scapegoats by politicians, the media, and anti-gun activists for the acts of criminals who generally use illegal firearms.Their researchers have found scant evidence that increasing restrictions have improved public safety, despite the high costs and severe regulatory barriers imposed on shooters in Australia.[citation needed] The National Coalition for Gun Control (NCGC) had a high profile in the public debate up to and immediately after the Port Arthur massacre.Rebecca Peters, Roland Browne, Simon Chapman and Reverend Tim Costello[139] appeared in media reports and authored articles to support their aims.[141] In 2003, Samantha Lee as chair of the NCGC was financed by a Churchill Fellowship to publish a paper[142] arguing that current handgun legislation is too loose, that police officers who are shooters have a conflict of interest, and that licensed private firearm ownership per se presents a threat to women and children.
Australian states and territoriesfederal governmentNational Firearms Agreementgun buybacksPort Arthur Massacrefirearm licenceregisteredNational CabinetMonash University in 2002Council of Australian Governments (COAG)New South WalesVictoriaQueenslandWestern AustraliaSouth AustraliaTasmaniaNorthern TerritoryAustralian Capital TerritoryRimfireriflessemi-automaticshotgunspump-actionlever-actionair riflesCentrefirebolt-actionmuzzleloadingmagazineself-loading shotgunsPrimary producersfarm workersfirearm dealersfirearm safetycollectorsclay target shootersHandgunstarget shootingoccupationalsecurity guardprison guardAir handgunblack powderfingerprintmagazinesSingle Action ShootingMetallic Silhouette.357 SIGbarrelrevolverssemi-automatic pistolsmilitary weaponsmachine gunsrocket launchersfull automatic self-loading riflesflamethrowersanti-tank gunsflintlockmilitary-style riflesactionassault rifleGun Control AustraliaAustralian frontier warsEureka RebellionFirst FleetDavid CollinscolonistsbushrangersrebellionsCastle Hill convict rebellionEureka StockadeFederationWorld War II1956 Melbourne Olympic Gamesfirearm prohibition orderswarrantMilperra massacreoutlaw motorcycle gangsHoddle Street massacreQueen Street massacreMelbourneself-loading riflesStrathfield massacrePort Arthur massacre (Australia)Martin BryantJohn HowardHoward governmentbullet-resistant vestLiberal PartySupreme Court of South AustraliaSection 51(xxxi) of the Constitution of AustraliaMedicare levyAustralian National Audit OfficeMonash University shootingcommerceMonash UniversityThomas Embling HospitalMetallic silhouette shooting2014 Sydney hostage crisisMan Haron MonisMike BairdTroy Grant2015 shootingNew South Wales Police ForceParramattaMalcolm Turnbullfirearms in private handsAustralian Institute of CriminologyMonash University Accident Research CentreDon WeatherburnNSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Researchmass shootingsmeta-analysisAustralian Medical AssociationThe Medical Journal of AustraliaUniversity of MelbourneLa Trobe UniversityAndrew LeighDavid HemenwayJoyce FoundationFederal Assault Weapons BanInternational Review of Law and Economicsdifference in differencesInjury PreventionUnited StatesVictorian Police