Hello my fellow Steemers
As many of you may already know, Australia has some of the most authoritarian gun laws in the world. These laws came to fruition after a tragic day in April 1996, when it was alleged a lone gunman killed 35 people and injured 23 more. This day triggered a snowball type effect that would play right into the agenda of the totalitarian government to disarm Australia. I won’t go into the conspiracy theories but a quick search will highlight some very interesting coincidences surrounding that day.
Early experiences and lessons
I was raised in a rural farming community where firearm ownership was essential. Life on the land would simply be unsustainable without gun ownership. However, the ownership and use of firearms was much more than a must have tool for the farmer, it was a part of his culture and could be traced back many generations to the first European settlers. These men and women relied upon their trusty rifle to provide food for the table and protect them against the harsh and isolated environment they found themselves thrust into.
My introduction to guns was at an early age shooting with a blemished old air rifle on the fritz at tin cans and paper targets held on the Hills Hoist(clothesline) by a few clothes pegs. Although this old BB gun struggled to puncture a hole in an empty beer can, it was this platform from which I learnt how to safely handle, respect and behave around guns.
As I grew older and was observed to be competent under the watchful eyes of my father, it was time for my first hunting expedition. This signaled a coming of age and an unspoken understanding that I was now expected to act like an adult respecting the land and its creatures.
We ventured out on many hunting adventures over the years providing priceless father son bonding and the sort of life lessons a school couldn’t provide. These outings may sound archaic but from an early age I understood the meaning of paddock to plate and the importance of taking game with precision to avoid animal suffering .
Public reaction
I still remember the days and months that followed that tragic day in Tasmania. The whole of Australia was shocked that such an atrocity could happen in our home land. The printing presses ran hot with ideas of gun reform with the 3 or 4 television stations fueling this fear and anger. Guns were ‘bad’ and had no place in society. Remember this was 1996, the internet was still in its infancy, the only media available was that controlled by the very sponsors of the government in power. Conspiracy theories were laughed at and the term false flag still hadn’t been coined.
This gave the government all the power they needed to promote a type of hatred towards firearm owners and advance their agenda. During this turbulent time Australia’s P.M came to be the poster boy for gun reform and offered a gun buyback scheme. This had its own problems as many guns that had been handed in to police stations across the country found their way back onto the streets and into the hands of criminals. This was to further cement the idea that guns were bad and only used by evil people for evil things. During this time a plethora of new laws were introduced restricting the sale of all guns. Firearm ownership was now only possible by obtaining a license and having all guns registered to that license. Law abiding firearm owners across the country endured the bureaucratic nonsense that was involved in the continued ownership of their guns. Special licenses for semi-automatic firearms were extremely hard to obtain and many old guns with sentimental value were destroyed in this transitional period. During this time Australians had basically handed in all their guns but the declared problem had not been addressed. The criminal element was not handing in theirs, instead having more choice than ever before.
The Generational culture is now being lost with no enhancement to public safety
