• Onii-Chan@kbin.social
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    11 months ago

    Same thing here in Australia. No semiautomatic rifles after Port Arthur, but everyone thinks we banned guns completely (we didn’t, and there are more in the country now than ever in its history.)

    We’ve still got semiautomatic handguns, our AR15’s just became pump action, and our shotguns had little buttons or levers added as bolt releases in order to skirt the law, with new variations popping up every time a ban happens (check out the Templeton T2000 - fires just as quickly as a regular semi-auto 12 gauge and is totally legal to own in the easiest license class to obtain.) Hell, I own five guns myself, two of which are handguns (Glock 19 and Beretta 92X both in 9mm, 10rnd mags.)

    What Australia DOESN’T have is a culture of gun fetishization. How any American thinks these laws will work in their state, let alone the entire country, is just insane to me. I also happen to think that a government disarming people is a really fucking bad idea, and even a growing number of young Aussies are starting to change their views in that area as well.

    So good on ya. Hold onto that AR. I’ll now accept everyone’s inevitable downvotes.

    • shalafi@lemmy.world
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      11 months ago

      You nailed it. I’ve said over and over again, America doesn’t have a gun problem. American has a culture problem.

      Same liberals saying prohibition doesn’t work in other legal arenas, scream prohibition. Fuck me. When we were college kids in the 90s, we were always saying, “You can’t legislate morality.” And here we are.

      We had AR-15s when I was a kid, in the 70s. AR-15s didn’t become popular until after the ban was repealed. My fellow libs, how did that work out for you? Still want to do this dance?

      Know what we didn’t have? School shootings. That shit came after Columbine. If the pipe bomb those assholes brought would have functioned, maybe that would be the “cool” thing?

      In some way, we have to make guns “uncool”. Make them seen as a thing that only practiced and trained users are capable of owning responsibly. Not talking laws like that! We’re already talking about backfiring laws. But socially speaking, a gun owner should be held to a higher responsibility. Hollywood ain’t helping.

      Sorry, but the 2A exists and prevents such laws, and the courts uphold it. But FFS, take away the ignorance and fetishization. I’m rambling, but I think you get me.