After Stephen Paddock became the author of the American worst mass shooting in Las Vegas on October first , people of the USA, once again, asked the government for stricter gun control, as was done in other countries. 

Australia:

In 1996, the worst happened in Tasmania, Australia. A 28-year-old man shot dead 35 people and injured 18 more in what became Australia’s worst mass shooting. The day after the Port Arthur massacre, minister John Howard started to put together the most radical gun control reform done by Australia regime and changed the country forever for the better. During that “buyback program”, Australians sold more than 700,00 weapons. The law banished semi-automatic, self-loading rifles and shotguns. They also imposed stricter licensing and registration conditions.

NRA:

Some think that politicians are refusing to impose laws because the NRA(national riffle assosiation of America)  brings a big amount of  money to the fund the republican campaign. In 2013, NRA made a profit equivalent to $57 millions. That organization is against new laws about gun control, which brings about many debates about gun control. Money does have a big influence but it doesn’t change how politicians vote. “The NRA is a powerful political force-but not because of its money”, said Matt Grossmann, a political scientist at Michigan State University. Even though, their presence in the case has a lot of impact. “The NRA waters down the gun laws and makes them ineffective and then says, ‘Look, the gun laws are ineffective, we told you that gun laws never work”, told à Boston Globe journalist.

Las Vegas attack:

In October, a man named Stephen Paddock took the life of 59 people and injured more than 500 using firearms. According to the police, he had more than 40 guns and thousands of  ammo. In wake of that, Americans have spoken demanding arms limitations. Now the question is: why can’t  US do what Australia did?

 The country is the largest manufacturer and the largest exporter of guns in the world. America’s gun problem is way larger that Australia’s and the number of guns is dramatically bigger.There are over 300 millions firearms in US and it will  cost billions if the US paid fair market value for these weapons. In 1996, Howard got all six Australian states to agree on gun control. It would be complex to the US government to be able to get all the 50 states agree on something.

An American assault weapon ban happened in 1994 and lasted 10 years. It prohibited the possession of semi-automatic weapons among others. Experts taught it might reduce mass shootings, but an study done by a National Research Council committee reveals the assault weapon ban did not reveal any clear impact on gun violence issues. The law was written so that it will expire after 10 years. In 2004, when it concluded, some democrats tried to renew it, in vain. After the next 10 years, there were a breathtaking 35 mass shootings ans 195 deaths and the rate of mass shootings is on the rise.

“Politicians offer their ‘thoughts and prayers and support,” says a Johann Porter, an American citizen. “But not their actions: to change our implicit decision to let mass shootings go on. And it is a decision.” Politicians receive donations of thousands of dollars from the NRA. In the elections of 2016, the organization donated $1,1 million helping Trump and spent millions of dollars in publicity against Hilary Clinton.

So, will the Australian laws work in US? It’s for you to decide…

(Written by Olivier Mercier and Natalia Valero; edited by  Chelsia Kamdem)