Can Gun Control Work?
Nonetheless, following the Port Arthur massacre in 1996, the issue of gun control took on new urgency in Australia. The primary response of the federal government was to institute a massive gun buy back scheme which cost some $360 million and involved some 560,000 weapons. This was, of course, additional to the existing controls which involved licensing of shooters and registration of firearms. Those seeking increased control of guns in the USA face a much tougher battle than those in Australia, England or in Canada. Not only are there 250 million weapons in private hands, but also there is a culture of individualism, a history of violence, a constitutional provision that purports to protect the rights of individuals to own arms, a powerful political lobby in the form of the National Rifle Association, divided political authority between federal and state legislatures and, presently, a President and Congress which is totally unsympathetic to the cause. Professor Jim Jacobs is a profess
