I don't get what your saying.Do you think it is ok to take a life for a stolen TV or some other inanimate object?You can replace those things you can't replace a life.

@Sheumais: If you break into someone’s house you should be prepared to pay the ultimate, your life!

@Trajan61 your a cruel person.

Automatic weapons are very hard to get hold of in Australia.Criminas here in Australia get hold of handguns through the black market,but they usually kill each other with them.

Yes that’s what the 2nd amendment is for, arm the good guys.

@Sheumais
I know. But thousands of illegal guns are taken off the streets every year in Perth alone. That's only a fraction of whats on the market. Also America regulates automatic weapons heavily so that isn't really a good argument.

@Lancer are you for real! If they are highly regulated why have there been so many school massacres.Can you tell me of any school massacres in Australia?People with little dicks need guns in a civilian environment.

@Sheumais

1. As I clearly said above, "automatic" guns are heavily regulated. SEMI-automatic firearms are legal in almost every country. As school shootings and pretty much all shootings are done with SEMI-automatic weapons. That's just the terminology.
2. We do still have mass shootings, just not on the same scale as America because our population is much smaller. As the population becomes larger, prices of goods and services increases and more and more people fall down to the lower socio-economic areas of society. We WILL have a crime increase. Just look at Melbourne and Sydney with the Apex gang, motorbike gangs, etc. As populations increase so does crime. It's illegal to have a gun in London but they have had more knife related murders than New York had gun murders recently. It's not about guns, it's about crime.

I would've thought that you an ex soldier would know the difference between automatic and semi-automatic. The SLR or FN-FAL was generally only used as semi-automatic. The F88-steyr was a semi and fully automatic firearm, the fire selector is below the trigger as you must know.

Demonizing people with guns is not the solution, it might make people feel better but at the end of the day most law abiding citizens in America arm themselves to protect their loved ones.

@Lancer you still haven't named a mass school shooting in Australia.The Victorian Police investigated the Apex gangs you mentioned,they determined that the term was a media beat up.Exactly what you would expect from the Murdoch press.

@Lancer the public don't have access to any of the weapons you described.

@Sheumais
So it HAS to be a school shooting or the deaths don't matter? Okay, I weigh lives equally but I can see that younger people have longer to live and are worth more to society. I guess.

As for Apex, I disagree. The fact that people have been arming themselves with baseball bats, knives, crossbows, etc. paints a different story. I say this because for a long time the Melbourne police denied the existence of the gang. Then they back pedaled saying "it wasn't that big of a problem". They are lying to us, just like the politicians lie to us.

Also if you think the public don't have access to guns then you're really out of touch. I could go down to a rough pub, find a drug dealer and he could lead me to some people willing to sell me an AR-15 or pistol for the right price. Get real. A few years ago the police found a Barret .50 Cal in a Sydney bust. That's a $5000+ gun and you think criminals care? If someone wants one they can find a way to get it. That's how the illegal gun market works. There were 3 machine guns found in a suburb about 5 km from where I live.

If you live in a rural town far from the cities I can understand why you think no body can get a gun like an AR-15. What region of the outback do you live in?

@Trajan61

@Lancer how is where I live relevant? These weapons were found I agree.But unlike the USA you can't walk into a gun shop a buy a military grade weapon.You still haven't answered my question about school shootings in Australia.All life is important not just children I agree. I grew up in a rural community,that makes no difference to someone living in a city.If you feel you need to a own a semi-automatic or automatic weapon in a civilian environment then I feel sad for you.

@Sheumais
It's extremely relevant. You claimed that Apex was a media overreaction yet you could only know if you lived in the areas affected. If not then your opinion on this matter is invalid.

True, you can't walk into a gun shop and just buy them. You could however take them from police officers, buy them from criminals or just steal them. It's not rocket science.

As for school shootings. We don't have any, we do however have violent kids who fight each other with knives, crow bars, cricket bats, etc. This world and this country is not the exception to violence.

I don't feel I need a semi-automatic weapon for self defense in THIS country YET. Even though I was violently attacked by 5 drunk men when I was 14 I don't think a gun would have made the situation better. It may have helped me to save my dad from his life long injury but that's just how I a law abiding citizen feel. I don't think we should attack people or property in the street without provocation. Obviously criminals couldn't care less. So eventually when they arm themselves and bash old people, rape women, attack children (my 2 friends were also attacked at other times, 1 with a gun the other with a brick). So obviously you don't care about the child victims of these aggressive criminals. You'd prefer them to be defenseless. Fine by me, I understand why more victims makes sense I guess...
@Trajan61

@Lancer I lived in Melbourne when the media spread this crap.I have only recently moved to QLD.I am suffering injuries from being mugged,but I don't wish to harm my assailants.The ignorance of successive Governments is responsible for the socio-economic situation thay make people steal through desperation.My military friends find it's usually civvies that want blood,but when the shit hits the fan they never step up.

@Sheumais
If you lived in Melbourne then you must've known there were guns on the streets in the hands of criminals. I'm a law abiding citizen and even I know where to go get a gun if I wanted to get one.

As for the assailants. They need to be stopped or at least deterred. Preying on children for fun isn't one of the principles this nation stands for. As for the government, I completely agree their ignorance is ultimately responsible but we need to stop the criminals ourselves now. The police have failed so now it's up to the citizens.

The story about black groups roaming around is a beat up by far-right neo-nazi groups.A few Sudanese people did some car jacking but white Australian gangs cause lots more trouble.We have a bunch of white racists putting this idea that non-whites and muslims are taking over the country.Another group of mindless cowards spreading fake stories.

I don't think that people know what that song is about.

@Woodron The first school shooting. Can't remember the shooters name,but asked why they done it, i don't like Mondays was the answer.

@Coldo, I don't think it was the first school shooting. If I'm not mistaken, I think that it was the first that made nationwide news.

@Woodron As far as i have been able to find it was the first school shooting.A sixteen year old girl that took her fathers gun to school.The Boomtown Rats I don't Mondays was her story.

March*

I was there too!

I think you will have a chance if the NRA has it's political influence ie donations stopped.Goodluck to you,keep up the good fight.