Five killed in mass stabbing at Sydney's Bondi Junction

No but enforcing those on the books IS an answer

 

Just for the information (and enlightenment) of our American 'friends' on this forum.

Chart one is the key point BTW.

https://www.bocsar.nsw.gov.au/Pages/bocsar_pages/Weapons.aspx#WeaponsOffences

 

@Turtledude

 

So your argument is that Aussies are nice poeple and have fewer violent people in their society. I have no problem with that.

The Mexicans however have strict gun laws, and the people have few guns. Except the cartels and drug gangs, who disregard laws and have a huge store of guns. Most of their guns do come from the US- smuggled in illegally (law failure again, on both sides of the border).

I wonder if you understand what a gun is. It's simply a tool, made mostly from metals. Anyone with a few basic metal working tools can build a gun. Not particularly a great gun, one one fully capable none the less.
I have a basic machine shop that produces metal molds for my business. If I wanted to, I could easily produce a firearm with these standard tools. Not a tinker toy- but something as powerful as any legal weapon made in factories. It would be slower than the processes provided by dedicated purpose tools, but the end result would be totally viable. Now- the cartels actually build their own submarines to smuggle drugs. I certainly could not build a submarine in my limited shop, the challenge would far exceed our capacity. Do you think, that if we were able to prevent the cartels from acquiring guns from the US or other countries- that they might simply use their existing resources and skills to build their own?

We have laws against the illegal transfer and exports of weapons- and we have an enforcement problem. We have a president that won't stop an invasion of illegals, so obviously the problem goes to the top. Enforcement- takes focus and commitment; you have to be willing to remember what the laws are for, and back them up- along with good common sense. These aren't problems that exist because guns exist, but because we have corrupt people in positions of power, just as we have violent people who aren't being prosecuted, while good citizens are being harassed under the pretense of controlling violent crime. It's a political game. It's far easier to decry crime and claim you are fighting it than it is to actually act and do it- and so long as people tolerate that sham, corrupt politicians will use it to stay in power.

Laws are the tools used by society to regulate people who won't regulate themselves. For that concept to work, the laws have to be fair- and not impose on the freedoms of those who will and do regulate themselves. But laws only work if they are enforced to support the purpose of their existence. We have more than enough laws, we have excessive and burdensome laws- and yet, enforcement is poor, misdirected, and sometimes non-existent. More laws won't help. The real problem is people, and the tolerance of both criminal conduct and corruption in politics.

IF a problem is going to be fixed, you have to understand the cause of it, and direct your solution to correcting the cause. The weapon is only the tool- a hammer can be used to build a home, or kill a person. But the hammer does not make the decision. It is people who control how tools are used.

It's always the people involved. Crime is the product of people who reject principals of law. Failure to enforce law is the product of people who reject the duty they have to enforce law. They too- are in violation of laws, such as malfeasance of office. People.

 

Partly because we have not become inured to death. Mass murder here is RARE and we act to keep it that way but the question is not why Australia has so few but why America has so many

The cartels that are smuggling the guns in from the USA - and a very lucrative trade that is for American arms manufacturers, who fund the NRA, which has been behind a campaign to prevent any legislation that would highlight and maybe stifle that flow

Can you build an AK 47? No? Then don’t be silly

 

no argument here

 

Since that would likely mean any of his victims or other bystanders have the same opportunity?
Hard to say.
You can look at the dickens shooting though if you want a what happens when the perp has a rifle and the citizen has a pistol with ****ed up sights from 40 yards situation.

 

Can I build an AK? Yeah, out of a shovel blade ffs. Doesn't even take expensive tools really.
https://warisboring.com/extreme-diy-man-makes-akm-from-a-shovel/
https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2012/11/26/turning-a-shovel-into-a-ak/

You can make an AR receiver out of ****ing wood or legos ffs.
https://www.northwestfirearms.com/threads/2x4-ar-lower-made-from-wood.246641/

 

Sorry- but the answer is yes, I could build an AK-47 clone. From scratch. However, that is a reliable but a rattle-trap sloppy and cheap weapon, using stamped sheet metal parts rather than machined ones. I'd do better. I've designed a lot of products for business over the years. For hobby interests I've designed boats, and built them from scratch. I designed most of the products my company manufactures- and, most of the specialized machinery built to produce them, but as a machinist, I'm slow and only fair. Even so, I can build a gun from scratch. Hardest part of a gun to manufacture from scratch is a barrel- but this too can be addressed with ordinary machines and a few special tools. Even rifling (putting precision grooves in the barrel bore) can be done in a small shop, in several ways.

I could show you one I've built that is a highly modified AR-15 designed for a backwoods expedition. 3 Rifles in one; calibers from .22 to 30 caliber, quick change barrels and action parts so that it breaks down to fit in a backpack with a total weight of 13 lbs including the scope. Fully in compliance with the laws, but something you can't buy off the shelf. Custom parts and machining used to reduce weight so it's practical to carry. This is mostly a modification of standard parts, but that doesn't always fill what you want. This is something rare, not anything done often- but also not difficult to do for a craftsman.

For people who do machining, guns are like the finest example of the art, and the best designers and best craftsmen are respected like the best artists.
We can build our own guns; it's legal for an American citizen to do so, provided you adhere to ATF rules, which we certainly do. They must be for personal use and can't be sold. The purpose for going to that trouble is to have something unique. One my son built is a .50 cal BMG extreme long-range target rifle. Every piece of it was made in-house except a commercial trigger and the barrel; which was made from a military surplus machine gun barrel, shortened and modified to fit. Bolt action, as most LR target rifles are, and single shot. It's a range rifle, far too heavy to even be fired from a shoulder.

The arms manufacturers certainly aren't seeking to supply illegal cartel sales. The people selling guns to cartels buy weapons in small numbers through dealers- sometimes unscrupulous dealers not following the laws, and steal weapons as well. The NRA would hang them all. The government- waltzes around the problems like it was in a daze.

People who don't understand guns never understand the dynamics here- it's like people who fear snakes are stalking them, out to kill them- and so want to destroy them all.
As a life member (and voting member) of the NRA since 1964- I can say your view of the organization is hogwash. The NRA is strongly in favor of enforcing effective laws for illegal possession or use of guns. Always been so; never seen anything to the contrary. What they fight is the effort to impose on law-abiding citizens instead of criminals- which all the anti-gun people think is the right thing to do. Fact is, if their position were adopted, criminal use of guns as well as crime overall would decrease because they would be addressing real causes. The NRA has promoted training, marksmanship, safety and more since it began in 1871, created by Union Army veteran officers. You should educate yourself so your opinion is properly grounded. I'd suggest starting here

https://home.nra.org/about-the-nra/

 

Sooooo - how many people have your skill and ability? As for the NRA - don’t get me started. They have wanted to overturn our laws since 1996



They were caught ON TAPE boasting about how they manipulate the public

 

Bottom line - we remember Port Arthur Massacre and don’t want another

 

How many?

About 300K professional machinists in the US, who would be more skilled than me. But the amateur number- people who make things for a hobby would easily top a million.

Not sure about who you say was "caught on tape", but I would have thought you knew that politics is exactly that- manipulating the public to get laws passed, to hide things you don't want them to see, etc.
Ads on TV and your phone- are trying to manipulate you. That's life, and damn few people don't do it, though many don't realize that is what they are doing. Most people on this forum are trying to manipulate how others think. I try to present the logic, and hope there are people capable of seeing it, and understanding it. Of course, that's often wishful thinking, but it's right to try.

I am, and every supporter of gun rights and the second amendment are generally more in favor of stopping crime than all the anti-gun people- and certainly more than our own government. We aren't the enemy, and guns aren't the enemy. Criminals and lunatics are the threat, and rational law enforcement would direct itself totally to the end.

Let me know when you have a verifiable report of a gun committing a mass murder without being in the control of such a person. Guns don't kill people anymore than spoons make people fat.
The logic here is undeniable, yet the people who fear guns can't see anything else.

 

Good for y'all. Keep your laws to yourselves.

 

wonder what they will ban when another massacre happens?

 

Maybe, but it sure seems we need to ban and take away the knives.