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Does gun control really work? I would direct everyone to Australia this past weekend, and 16 people are dead, and Australia has just about the most restrictive gun control in the world, but guns were used. That should tell you that gun control does not work. This is what the left wants to do: take your guns away, and of course, this tragedy is going to be blamed somehow some someway on Trump.
Does gun control really work?
Anonymous
(45 Plus) 
What Girls & Guys Said
Opinion
23Opinion
“Gun control” is an enormously blanket term. Some gun controls are effective. Bans are not among them. Make the use of a firearm in the commission of any crime or civil infraction an automatic felony. Now you have compound sentencing to make sure gun CRIMINALS are appropriately punished. I’d be perfectly comfortable with stricter gun controls for criminals. If you have a violent crime on your record, and you’re caught with a firearm straight to prison; ten years minimum. If you’re caught committing a violent crime with a firearm for a second time, execution. Most of those idiots are living like they want to die anyway. Let’s make their dreams come true and make our streets safer for law abiding citizens while we’re at it!
The vast majority of “gun control” suggested by democrats is either already law and woefully under-enforced or it targets law abiding gun owners while they actively let violent criminals off the hook for anything and everything. Prime example: a good samaritan disarmed one of the shooters at Bondi beach, the police shot the good samaritan. A homeowner in California spent more time in jail than the home invaders he was protecting himself from. A Las Vegas man was charged with a crime for doing a podcast about machining his own firearms. A UK man was jailed for shooting guns while on vacation in the US!
The democrats don’t care about our safety one bit. They want us scared so that we will give them complete control over every facet of our lives in exchange for their false sense of security. There isn’t a single blue zone in the US with crime rates legitimately lower than the national average, let alone completely free from crime. Both sides have more than nominal authoritarian tendencies and the only thing keeping them from going full fascist and seizing absolute power is our second amendment to the US Constitution and gun culture.
Outlawing firearms guarantees that only outlaws have firearms and the rest of us become soft targets.
One anecdotal example of gun violence is not statistically valid to judge the effectiveness of a broad gun control policy. This incident, of course, has nothing to do with your lazy leap, ‘connecting the dots’ assertion and mischaracterizing what the (American) left ‘wants’ to do. And for the record, nobody has blamed PiggyPedo yet. He had nothing to do with this one, fortunately.
He does enough bad things, and has plenty of bad incidents attributed to him already, correctly and justly without you worrying about (boo hoo, poor OrangeTurd) getting unduly blamed.
LMAO!
One shooting incident means gun control doesn't work? Here in America we have had 400 mass shootings this year alone. This doesn't count the homicides or other crimes that involve shootings.
In 2023 in Australia there were 31 gun related homicides. In the U. S. there were 47,000 gun related deaths in 2023. This includes homicides, suicides, accidental deaths, mass shootings.
So it seems gun control curtails gun-related deaths and has been successful in Australia. One negative incident does not mean failure. It means someone has gotten around gun control laws. THe how and why will tell more about that individual failure.
Australia has never had it a right nor have they ever had the amount of guns in civilian hands
@Pterodon This is true. And that is a difference. But gun control doesn't mean all guns are taken away from everyone. It means gun owners are registered, and there are more hoops to jump through for gun ownership.
Because laws are so loose here, it has been difficult to get such rules in place.
The orginal amendment was about keeping an armed militia in place so tyrants could not overthrow citizens' rights. It was never a carte blanche for anyone and everyone to own guns. It was orginally about having a national guard of sorts.
I own a gun for hunting. I have no problem with registering it if that's that new rule. But I wonder who feels the same way? Who feels it impinges on their rights? As long as I can own and keep my duck hunting shotgun, what is wrong with registering it?
I own a car and a driver's license. Both are registered! Does that impinge on my rights?
Laws are not loose here. I don’t know where you get that. Yes you do want total confiscation. Remember Beto? Yes you do want bans. Do I need to say assault rifles? You want them banned but can’t even define one.
Yes, it does work - to the benefit of the criminals. You know, one would think the leftists would actually get this one. They are so much in favour of "equal distribution", after all.
Well, dear leftists... When guns are legal, they are equally distributed between law-abiding citizens and criminals. When guns are illegal, we've got a serious case of inequality - the law-abiding citizens do not have guns, while the criminals do have guns. This inequality has dire consequences for the entire society. Take a moment to let that sink in.
Quote:
"There were almost 47,000 firearms-related deaths in the United States in 2023, the most recent year with available data from Pew Research Center, for an average rate of 13.7 deaths per 100,000 people.
During a comparable period (July 2023 through June 2024) Australia saw only 31 gun-related murders, a homicide rate of 0.09 gun murders per 100,000 people, according to data from the Australian Institute of Criminology."
https://www.forbes.com/sites/zacharyfolk/2025/12/14/the-gun-murder-rate-in-australia-where-15-were-slain-at-bondi-beach-is-6000-lower-than-in-us/
47,000 includes suicide by gun.
Yes it does. Look at China and pretty much all Asian countries for example. Very strict gun control and very low crime rates. You never hear of any mass shootings in China or really any of Asia. Because gun control works and guns are dangerous deadly weapons. Only violent dangerous mentally ill psychopaths own guns and are pro gun. All countries need to ban all guns. Then give gun owners two weeks to turn in all their guns then go door to door and consifiscate all guns and arrest and throw anyone that didn't turn in their guns in prison for life or execute them.
Why does Jamaica with stricter gun control than China, still have 1000% the homicide rate compared to USA per captia?
Or 10,000% of china's.
Jamaica does have stricter gun ban laws than china.
Yet:
Jamaica: ~40-49 homicides per 100,000 people.
USA: ~5.8 homicides per 100,000 people (2023 data).
China: ~0.44 homicides per 100,000 people.
Don't tell me it's skin color.
So you want people with guns to take away guns?
@chickychickyparmparm That wasn’t the question, now was it?
@Tamera952 It's the reality of what would have to happen.
Yankee conservatives don't understand by bringing up Australia, they are proving gun control works because this is the first shooting in Australia that killed more than 7 people in 39 years. In America, that happens literally every year, if not multiple times every year. The rarity of such an event is why it is being covered across the world so dramatically. When we hear something like this happened in America, we just shrug it off in 5 seconds because it happens so frequently.
And again, how many people live in Australia versus the USA? A wild guess: 100 million versus 350 million. A disparity of 250 million, so the numbers are a little skewed. And less than 7 does not count as a mass shooting in Australia?
Of course not.
Criminals and psychos do not follow laws.
People keep focusing on inanimate objects and not people.
You cannot have 2 generations of fatherless, no family kids and tons of immigrants with values that do not align with the west and not have endless chaos and death.
It doesn't prevent all gun deaths, but the US experiences about five times as many gun deaths as any other developed nation. All evidence indicates that gun control works. Vaccines work too, but some people still contract the disease.
Nope.
Ok let's give an example. Let's say you live in a town where crisco and anything like it is banned, with jail sentences for having it. Cool. What the fuck are you gonna do to stop me from smuggling it in, and selling it on the down low? Arrest or kill me? Ok, then I'm gone, and someone else will take my place. You can't search every inch and every piece of everything and everyone. It will always slip in.
It doesn't work because bad people are always able to get guns on the black market while law abiding citizens are unable to defend themselves. You might think cops are enough but a thief can easily pop a cap in your family and scoot before the authorities arrive. Best case you have a way to effectively defend yourself at all times.
29 years since the last mass shooting, and this was a terrorist attack, not someone who doesn't like Mondays. The US averages more than one mass shooting a day.
Of course it works.
Well you have to ask why do countries with strict gun controls have a lower murder/ mass shooting rate per capita? The datas is out there for you to answer this question. Just go look.
No shit if a countries has almost no guns, guns will rarely be used. No check those rates for the weapons that are common in the country
@egan3141 The US has a similar per capita knife murder rate as the UK, but that's less than a quarter of their murders. Overall the murder rate is five times higher in the US, because they're remarkably violent AND guns make it really easy to kill someone.
So what you are saying is the UK still has lots of crime? And banning guns didn't stop crime? Guns just make crime easier?
@egan3141 Are you stupid? Let's try again: there are knife murders in both countries. There are practically NO gun murders in the UK (29 per year). There are many thousands of gun murders in the US, in addition to the same rate of knife murders.
In other words, I followed your instructions to: "check those rates for the weapons that are common in the country", and they're a small fraction of the US murder rate.
If America has the same knife murder rate as the UK despite having guns, sounds like it's not guns that is the problem, but the people that live in america. Most people use guns, and we still have more knife murder than place with almost no guns...
This is of course assuming these stats are remotely accurate
@egan3141 You can look them up. I'm not in the habit of lying.
@goaded Sorry, I didn't mean to imply you were lying. I meant the people reporting the stats
@egan3141 That's why I stick with murder rates. It's the one crime that's easy to count: one body, one crime (more or less). Other crimes, like rape, assault, etc., are fuzzier.
The violent tendencies in the US might double the murder rate, but guns turn it up to 11. (Spinal Tap reference.)
That's an assumption. Do guns turn it up, or is guns just what people are using? We can't really know this. Therefore, the real question should be "the problem is murder. How can we combat that?"
@egan3141 Easy, don't give guns to people who are likely to murder other people. Most countries get it.
Okay, so we are still left with not just an already higher murder rate with other weapons, but that already higher murder rate is about to skyrockets because people don't have guns anymore. Now what?
@egan3141 OK, you've answered my previous question.
@goaded And this is why I tried not to ask it earlier. Almost every leftist runs away the moment you ask "If we got rid of guns, murder would still run rampant, so what do we do next?"
@egan3141 That's because it's a stupid claim akin to "if we got rid of wheels people would still travel hundreds of miles". Yes, it's possible, but it's a lot more difficult.
@goaded And the most forgotten thing is that the US has about 5x the amount of people vs the UK, so the knife rate of murders in the UK is 5x higher than in the US
Oh, FFS. I've consistently talked about RATES, which is per capita, not absolute numbers. 29 gun murders would be fewer than 150 in the US. You wish.
Your second response is exactly what I was gonna say. RATES. America is already at a higher rate for knife murder. And that's with our high gun rate! So, if we got rid of guns, our knife rate would skyrocket. So, rather than me asking "did guns fix anything" I'm instead asking "Since the problem of murder is still rampant, what should we do next?"
@egan3141 You want to make believe it would go up five or more times, that's bullshit. "If we got rid of wheels people would still travel hundreds of miles". Yes, it's possible, but it's a lot more difficult.
@goaded Your proposal isn't comparable to wheels, it's comparable to high gas efficiency vehicles. Speaking of vehicles, that would probably be another murder method that skyrockets. Especially since the best "weapons" for murdering multiple people are guns, explosives, and vehicles.
@egan3141 Most murders are personal, not mass murders, try again. Hint: The UK has cars too.
@goaded OK boys you are both pretty... put this down to agree to disagree maybe? I am getting all kinds of notices for this lol
@goaded If it's personal, do you really think a lack of a gun is going to change things? Personal greatly increases the likelihood of doing whatever is necessary to accomplish the goal...
1) No I'm not. 2) Why, we are discussing? Are discussions not allowed? 3) I don't care. I'm talking to him, not you. Blame either your notification settings or GAG
Sorry. FYI there's an option to mute the question. Unless you do, I'll stop.
@goaded Well I learned something... I had no clue. Muting engaged.
" @goaded Well I learned something... I had no clue. Muting engaged. " Game on! :)
Yes, "a lack of a gun is going to change things" because you don't have to be close to your victim, you don't have to be strong, you just have to pull a trigger, not feel a knife cutting into a living person's flesh, you're even less likely to be caught "Numerous studies from the United States have found that homicides involving firearms are less likely to be solved than those involving other weapons, or no weapon, such as hitting and kicking" journals.sagepub.com/.../10887679251320257
Also, don't be an ass to people who have asked you to stop.
I guess you believe people to be way nicer than I do. I think most humans are such scum that having to be close won't make any difference.
I think it is far worse to try to control someone (tell them what to do) than it is to insult them. So, no.
@egan3141 No, I don't, stop trying to pretend I'm in some ivory tower. Facts are facts, and the fact is that it's a damn sight easier to kill someone specific with a gun than any other way. It's also an easy way to kill many people, if you're that way inclined.
@goaded I never said you were nor did I say it wasn't easier. However, whether it's easier or not does depends on the mentality. It tends to be harder for women. But that's a different point all together. You are saying/implying that by banning guns, the murder rate would fall drastically. I'm saying that it wouldn't. Based on the reasons we have given, the only explanation I can find for why our opinions are different is that you think humanity isn't as bad as I think it is.
overall murder rate*
@egan3141 Maybe you think humanity is as bad as you think it is is because you're living in a "shithole country"TM where guns, racism and misogyny are commonplace. Fish think water is normal.
@goaded Actually, I think humanity is far worse in those countries where guns aren't allowed...
@egan3141 And yet fewer people are murdered. So, why?
@goaded Murder isn't the only thing that makes humans horrible people...
@egan3141 No, wanting to have the ability to kill people is also something that makes humans horrible people. So, people who want handguns and other military-looking weapons.
@goaded Just being alive and functional is enough for you to have the ability to kill someone...
Also, I KNEW it! We have had political arguments. We were "agreeing" on something earlier today, or at least kind of enjoying the conversation. It just makes me happy when I find one of the rare people that can disagree with you, actually talk it out, and still be nice afterwards.
@egan3141 It's easier to kill someone with a gun. People are saying they need guns in case of something like the Charlie Kirk murder, but the reality is that if the murderer hadn't had a gun, there would have been no murder, and if every single person in the crowd had a gun, it wouldn't have stopped it.
@goaded It's easier for a woman to defend herself from someone breaking into her home with a gun as well. Do women that want protection by using guns also count as being horrible people for wanting to be able to kill?
@egan3141 That doesn't address my point in the slightest, does it? True or false:
It's easier to kill someone with a gun. If the Charlie Kirk murderer hadn't had a gun, there would have been no murder, and if every single person in the crowd had a gun, it wouldn't have stopped it.
As for guns making you safer in your home, 66,000 guns are stolen from homes every year in the US. 100,000 are stolen from cars. If they weren't all over the place, they would be a damn site harder to obtain to threaten people with. (Hundreds are stolen in robberies, which means the victim was in possession of their gun at the time.)
I was referring back to an older comment you made BECAUSE you said "It's easier to kill someone with a gun".
Back to Charlie Kirk, that's not remotely guaranteed. There are NUMEROUS ways to kill someone that don't involve guns. Grenades (happened in 2005 to president Bush. He got lucky and the grenade didn't explode properly), vehicles, using vehicles as moving bombs (Could easily load a vehicle up with a bunch of propane tanks, then floor it into the area and blow up), and I'm sure many more I'm not thinking of right now. I will admit, him being killed AT A PUBLIC EVENT probably would have been significantly less likely without guns, but him being killed at all isn't. Plenty of public figures have attempts on their lives that don't involve guns. Also, have you ever considered that the reason people resort to guns so often is ONLY because they are the most convenient? If you got rid of guns, they would just find another way: Grenades, molotov cocktails, assault with a deadly weapon, ramming with vehicles (We have some VERY good vehicles for this in modern times compared to 50+ years ago), and numerous other ways. If taking away freedoms of good people don't stop crimes, what are you trying to achieve?
@egan3141 You're making my argument for me. Yes, guns "are the most convenient" way to kill people, which is why it makes it very much harder to kill someone if you don't have guns everywhere.
All your example alternatives are horribly indiscriminate, they'd probably kill many innocent people, not just the target; something else that would put off a lot of potential assassins. (And just how easy do you think it is to buy a grenade compared to a gun?)
Vehicles? Stand behind a big rock, or on a podium. Also, unlike most guns, vehicles are indispensable.
If every single person in the crowd had a gun, would they have been able to stop the gunman who killed Charlie Kirk?
"Most convenient way" doesn't mean it should be removed. There will ALWAYS be a most convenient. If we remove guns for being most convenient, how many more things will you want removed for being convenient?
A rock or podium isn't going to stop a large truck moving at 40 miles per hour.
As for the last question, of course not. Guns for defense are reactionary, not prevent... preventatory? preventative? Preventative doesn't seem like the right tense
And a question of clarification "unlike most guns"... Does that mean you want some guns banned, not all guns? I thought you have been saying all guns this entire time.
Okay, let's look at gun deaths in Australia versus the U. S. Heck we'll add in Japan, another place with very restrictive gun laws. Even if we combine the gun deaths per capita in Japan and Australia, they're still lower than the U. S. We lead the world in firearm deaths by a large margin. A large margin. 60 people were shot in one incident in Las Vegas in 2017. 60 people, that's almost 4 times as many as the shooting in Australia.
I don't think Trump will be bamed for a islamic terost attack in Austraila. As for gun control, look at the drug control we have, I'm sure glad we have that othewise tons of peopel would be dieng over drug overdoess...
No it doesn't. Criminals don't follow laws. Gun control just makes law abiding citizens more vulnerable and easier targets for criminals.
Good point!
@Proudblondewoman Are You sure You are a blonde woman? You do not fit the stereotype, I will have You know!
I do believe they do work and mass shootings in Australia are very rare.
Australia’s crime rate has been lower than the USA for many years
Yes. There gun violence stats went from 3% yo.88% under their laws. Nice try. 🙃
If we could keep the bad guys from getting guns it would work. Until that happens I plan to keep my guns.
yeah so far all the dictators in history have agreed it does
It's important to not judge a complete society on one or two incidents.
So far, no!! If somebody wants one, they know how to get one!
Gun control is hitting your target. If you can’t do that I don’t care what kind of gun you have you’ll have problems
I have found that it does if you use both hands.
Obviously telling a criminal to follow the laws works everytime
To some extent but not nearly as well as actual prisons do.
no, but I expect Trump to outlaw AR-15 his last year in office if he doesn't get impeached.
I hate that this wouldn't surprise me
The guy who murdered the healthcare CEO shot him with a gun he printed on a 3-D printer.
Agreed. Gun control is meant to save lives, and it doesn't save lives, it changes how lives are taken.
It doesn't work
Yes it works
It does not.