Former Aussie PM John Howard in the NY Times on Gun Law
Excerpt:
I was elected prime minister in early 1996, leading a center-right coalition. Virtually every nonurban electoral district in the country — where gun ownership was higher than elsewhere — sent a member of my coalition to Parliament.
Six weeks later, on April 28, 1996, Martin Bryant, a psychologically disturbed man, used a semiautomatic Armalite rifle and a semiautomatic SKS assault weapon to kill 35 people in a murderous rampage in Port Arthur, Tasmania.
After this wanton slaughter, I knew that I had to use the authority of my office to curb the possession and use of the type of weapons that killed 35 innocent people. I also knew it wouldn’t be easy.
So many surprises. Here's a guy who's a complete supply-sider who shows no visible appreciation for the needs of the "unwashed", yet he engineers Australaia's greatest gun reform. Let's hope the American culture is ready for these sort of "federal mandates" in a century or two.
ReplyDeleteAussies had had it after Port Arthur. What it will take for Americans - hard to tell.
ReplyDelete