Australia offers to help US with gun reform

SYDNEY: Australia offered to help the United States reform its gun laws yesterday after a successful two-decade clamp down on firearms in the wake of its own worst mass shooting.

The US is reeling after at least 59 people were killed and more than 500 injured when retired accountant Stephen Paddock opened fire on thousands of concertgoers in Las Vegas before killing himself.

The shocking tragedy has sparked renewed calls for weapons control, a sensitive subject in a country where the pro-gun lobby — the National Rifle Association — is a powerful political force.

“What we can offer is our experience,” Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said yesterday, pointing to a 1996 gun buyback and ban on semi-automatic and automatic weapons.

“But at the end of the day it’s going to be up to the United States legislators and lawmakers, and the United States public, to change the laws to ensure this type of incident doesn’t happen again.”

Australia was rocked in 1996 when gunman Martin Bryant went on the rampage armed with semiautomatic weapons at the historic Tasmanian colonial convict site of Port Arthur.

Thirty-five people died in the massacre, a turning point for a nation that traditionally had a high rate of gun ownership.

Then centre-right Liberal prime minister John Howard swiftly enacted tougher gun laws, including bans on certain weapons, a minimum ownership age, and licences.

More than 600,000 weapons were destroyed in the aftermath and while controversial at the time, gun control measures now have strong public support.

In the first national amnesty since then, which started in June and ended last weekend, more than 26,000 guns were surrendered.