Reader’s Opinion: Blaming the Police and Courts for Gun Violence

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The July 6 letter, “No ‘gun culture’ exists in Australia,” appeared to attempt to strengthen the argument for Australian-style gun laws in the United States. He claimed that no guns were confiscated under Australia’s 1996 National Firearms Agreement and that the public was simply encouraged to turn in their unwanted guns. I believe this is patently false. One need only read the text of the law, where it clearly indicates severe penalties for the voluntary non-surrender of firearms.

In total, during the buyback program, around 640,000 prohibited firearms were confiscated by the Australian government, and another 60,000 non-banned weapons were voluntarily surrendered, as Eugene Kiely wrote for FactCheck.org in October. 2017. Non-banned firearms are mainly antiques and collectibles made unusable and therefore unlikely to be used in committing a crime.

As University of Melbourne researchers noted in 2008, there is little evidence to suggest that (Australia’s Mandatory Gun Buyback Program) had any significant effects on gun homicides.

At least 230 people were shot dead in the United States over Independence Weekend. I don’t think the hunters and sport shooters were to blame. Concealed transport permit holders who have all passed background checks either. Rather than criminalizing law-abiding gun owners, perhaps we should listen to Baltimore Police Chief Michael Harrison, who blames “funding the police movement for gun violence and the chief of the Chicago police David Brown who blames the justice system for not keeping murderers in jail.

Martin Théobald

Duluth

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