An article on CNN’s website by Susan Scutti is very misleading. This is the first sentence from that article.

“The real effects of most gun laws are unknown due to a scarcity of evidence, a new and far-reaching systematic review of US gun policy finds.”

This is entirely false. The proof lies in A single incident in Australia which drastically changed its gun laws in 1996. I will give you the details later. In addition, common sense proves that banning assault rifles and high-output magazines would save many lives. All three of the horrific mass shootings under Trump’s watch would have resulted in far fewer deaths. The murders of 17 students and teachers on Valentine’s Day in Florida; the slaughter of 26 men, women, and children in a church located in a small Texas town; and the deaths of 58 men and women in Las Vegas; would all have had different results if the lone gunmen had not used assault rifles which were all purchased legally.

Let’s look at just one of these mass killings. There is no possibility under any theory that a man running between two hotel rooms in Las Vegas could have taken the lives of 58 people if he had possessed a hunting rifle or a pistol. He could never have fired hundreds of rounds in just a short period of time. My other two references would have had different results as well.

Let’s discuss the changes in Australia.

Prior to 1996, the gun laws of all six of Australia’s states were similar to Americas. The a lone gunman killed 35 people who were enjoying a tourist attraction in Tasmania. All six of the aforementioned states agreed within two weeks to change those laws.

The newly elected Prime Minister, John Howard, was himself a gun supporter; he led the fight to change the laws. These are the changes. Note that ‘self-defense’ is not a viable reason to own a gun in Australia.

Military weapons including assault rifles and semi-automatic shotguns were banned.

Australia has a 28-day waiting period while thorough background checks are completed to confirm that the buyer has a ‘justifiable reason’ to own a gun.’

The government has purchased more than one-million semi-automatic weapons from individuals.

In 2015 President Obama referred to the successes of Australian’s laws.

“When Australia had a mass killing – I think it was in Tasmania – about 25 years ago, it was just so shocking the entire country said: ‘Well, we’re going to completely change our gun laws’. And they did, and it hasn’t happened since,” he said in 2015.

So what has or hasn’t changed in Australia since 1996?

The primary purpose of these laws were to end future mass shootings; and they have; they have also resulted in a reduction of homicides and suicides.

Admittedly the exact laws in Australia would not apply to the laws of the United States. However, ending the sale of military weapons; designed to kill as man human being as possible in the shortest period of time; would make a major difference.

 We can no longer allow 33,000 American men, women, and children to die from gunshot wounds each year. We cannot accept the fact that there are more mass shootings each day in America than days on the calendar. These statistics can change, but first our government must change. It must return to supporting the will of the people and the NRA gun lobby must be driven out of Washington.

‘Follow the children.’

Op-ed by James Turnage

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Image courtesy of DonkeyHotey

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