Guns & Australia

This is the link to the letter to the editor of the New York Times today (1/17/2013) about the gun laws in Australia after a 1996 mass shooting of 35 people in Tasmania. His points are both relevant and salient to the discussion we're having now.

And remember John Howard, leader of Australia 1996-2007, was a conservative as was and are many of the people of Australia then and was the individual state and national governments then too. If they could and did regulate guns, then we can too.

It is time for America to bring the violence and guns themselves under control, as he says, "The fundamental problem was the ready availability of high-powered weapons, which enabled people to convert their murderous impulses into mass killing. Certainly, shortcomings in treating mental illness and the harmful influence of violent video games and movies may have played a role. But nothing trumps easy access to a gun. It is easier to kill 10 people with a gun than with a knife."

The editorial says it all doesn't it? Guns kill people because anyone can get one in the US. It is about people, access to guns and guns themselves. President Obama has it right, now it's time Congress do it right.