> Now, the Australian gummit is at it again.
> This time it's semi-auto handguns. If it has
> no "sporting shooter" use, it is
> being made illegal.

> Why?

> Because some drongo Crooks and psychos
> killed some people with similar type
> weapons. Would these types of people hand
> back their illegal weapons?

I think this recent buy-back initiate was sparked by university shootings where the shooter was a legal owner of his guns, and not a crook.

So what's the point of making many guns illegal?

I think the main point is that it decreases the supply of guns in the community. Not all murders are carried by career criminals with underground connections.

Perhaps you have a person who is very stressed, very anxious, or going through a crisis. Perhaps they're just going through a divorce, and they're on the edge and about to snap.

Such people may feel the inclination to kill themselves, or to kill others, and I believe that limiting legal gun ownership would decrease the probabilities of such events happening.

On the flip side, you're taking away the enjoyment derived from owning a gun from potential gun owners (whether that enjoyment is from feelings of protection/self-defence, or recreation, etc).

So it's a trade off between these two. Is it a worthwhile trade off? I think it is, but I'm biased due to having no desire to own a gun.

- Thomas.