So apparently we’re now taking punchlines of a skit from a stand-up comedian as political arguments. The battle between the sides of gun rights and gun control is heating up, and there seems to be no limit as to where gun control advocates will look to find their ammunition to support their cause. (pun intended)
What was intended to be a hilarious skit from 7 years ago; a clip of Australian Jim Jefferies is now making its round online as leftists are using it as leverage for more gun control. Footage of Jefferies’ routine has since racked up millions of views, but here’s why using his skit as an argument is misleading at best, disingenuous at worst.
Australia has always been portrayed as the model of successful gun control. Many in the gun control crowd have always cited the 1996 non-binding National Firearms Agreement. This included a ban on all automatic and semiautomatic weapons, bar a small number of licensed permit holders, following the Port Arthur Massacre which tragically killed 35. The argument is that the difference between the two nations’ responses to the tragic mass shootings couldn’t be more different, "Australia handled guns way better than America".
Mr. Jefferies, in 2015, told his crowd, “In 1996, Australia had the biggest massacre on Earth. Still hasn’t been beaten. Now, after they banned guns, in the 10 years before Port Arthur, there was 10 massacres. Since the gun ban in 1996, there hasn’t been a single massacre since. I don’t know how or why this happened … ah maybe it was a coincidence, right?”
What he and the anti-gun right crowd have omitted is that Australia had a declining gun violence rate before the ban. According to data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the crude firearms death rate declined from 4.8 deaths per 100,000 population in 1980 to 2.6 in 1995, the year prior to the ban. This represented a decline of 46% over a period of 16 years. The 1995 standardized rate of 2.6 was the lowest death rate from firearm use recorded during the reference period.
Data showing the steady decline of deaths from firearm use in Australia. Released Feb 26, 1997.
In fact, the total homicide rate from 1997 to 2003 and the overall rate of violent crime in Australia rose steadily. Not only did the number of homicides rise slowly and steadily, but the number of armed robberies rose significantly. Armed robbery had increased 166% nationwide. What that indicates is that there are other factors when it comes to the correlation between guns-related deaths and gun control, namely mental health issues in our societies. That’s a whole conversation for another day, which we’ll get to.
Graphs showing the steady increase of homicides and armed robbery in Australia after
the 1996 ban of guns nationwide. Released 2003.
Another main point the gun-control advocates are pushing for is gun buyback programs. As a big part of the ban on guns, the Australian government implemented a $500 million National Firearms Buyback Program. Held between October 1996 to September 1997, 650,000 guns were returned and destroyed by the government. In order to fund the program, the government increased the Medicare levy (part of an Australian’s taxable income) from 1.5% to 1.7%. Now let’s just put aside the fact that it’s utterly unconstitutional. There are over 393 millions guns in America. How much extra strain are we putting on our out-of-control, $30 trillion-deep national debt? If we can’t keep our gas prices and inflation down, and if we can’t find enough baby formulas for American children, where are we going to find that money to confiscate all those guns from Americans?
California governor Gavin Newsom promises the largest gun buyback program in the nation.
Among those who are going to take advantage of it are going to be retirees with trunkfuls of old weapons and gun dealers who were trading in their cheapest guns for a profit. You’re not getting firearms “off the streets”. It will only drive up the value of guns. If buyback programs offer less than market value, the gun owner can simply take their weapon to a dealer. Sellers can also take the profit from selling their old guns and go buy new guns.
Another point that Mr. Jefferies brought up in that expletive-filled skit was that he was “all for Americans having their Second Amendment rights” but that Americans have no valid argument besides them “liking guns” and that it’s not for “protection of Americans and their families”. However, Mr. Jefferies didn't know would transpire in the past 2 years when governments around the world used the CCP Virus pandemic to trample all over people’s basic rights and freedoms, including the US government and his very own Australian government.
Mr. Jefferies can also get a refresher on history, not just how America became independent from tyranny, but also when regime after regime carried out massive slaughter of their own people shortly after disarming their citizens: Here’s just a few examples….
1929 - Russia disarmed its citizens
Between 1929 - 1953 They murdered 20 million Russians
1935 - China disarmed its citizens
Between 1948 - 1952 They murdered 20 million Chinese
1938 - Germany disarmed its citizens
Between 1939 - 1945 They murdered 16 million Jews
1964 - Guatamala disarmed its citizens
Between 1964 - 1981 They murdered 100,000 Mayan Indians
…and tragically the list goes on.
“But you have the Constitution to protect your rights, right?” Well did you see what happened in the last two years? If they can take away your rights in the name of “safety”, why can’t they keep going down that path in the future?
What happened in Texas recently is tragic, and there’s many, many other ways to fix it. More gun control isn't the answer, even if Jim Jefferies said so by referencing how well Australia did it in his skit 7 years ago.
Although we may strongly disagree with Jim Jefferies on his stance about the Second Amendment, we do quite enjoy his comedy skits as a very talented comedian. Watch the full video below!
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