Quote:
Originally Posted by G1911
What country has "greatly lowered" mass shootings by banning arms? Can you link the data? Does this country have 400,000,000 guns in it already? Do you truly believe that a psycho plotting a massacre will simply dispose of his weapon and magazines if they are made illegal for anyone to have?
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Switzerland and Australia are two countries we could learn a lot from in terms of reducing gun violence.
Switzerland has over 2 million guns (about .25 guns for every citizen) and guns are very important to them culturally (they have a large shooting contest for 13-18 year olds each year, and see gun ownership as a patriotic way to guard against potential invasions) but hasn't had a mass shooting since 2001 and often have less than 50 gun related homicides per year in a country with over 8 million people.
Specific laws that reduce gun violence in Switzerland include:
1) Gun sellers follow strict licesning procedures : Gun permits are doled out locally and they keep a log of everyone who owns a gun in their region in what they call a "canton." Cantonal police don't take their duty doling out gun licenses lightly. They might consult a psychiatrist or talk with authorities in other cantons where a prospective gun buyer has lived to vet the person.
2) Violent people or those with substance abuse issues can't have guns: People who've been convicted of a crime or have an alcohol or drug addiction aren't allowed to buy guns in Switzerland.
Those who "expresses a violent or dangerous attitude" also can't own a gun.
Gun owners who want to carry their weapon for "defensive purposes" also have to prove they can properly load, unload, and shoot their weapon and must pass a test to get a license.
3) The Swiss banned the use of automatic weapons, silencers, laser sights, and heavy machine guns.
https://www.businessinsider.com/swit...-deaths-2018-2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjlT4BME2aE
Australia had a mass shooting in Tasmania in 1996 in which 35 people died.
The Australian Government, then led be a Conservative named John Howard pushed through strict gun laws 12 days later.
The laws:
1) Banned semi-automatic and pump-action shotguns and rifles from civilian possession.
2) Forced people to provide a legitimate reason to own a gun, and to wait 28 days to buy a firearm.
3) Had a massive mandatory buyback of guns, resulting in the confiscation and destruction of about 700,000 guns reducing gun-owning households by half.
Australia has had only 1 mass shooting since 1996, and gun violence has been reduced by over half.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2Arc3c8Pc8