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I have no doubt that Australia has fewer mass shootings than the US by pretty much any reasonable metric, but we should be careful in our comparisons. First of

I have no doubt that Australia has fewer mass shootings than the US by pretty much any reasonable metric, but we should be careful in our comparisons. First of all, definitions vary widely on what constitutes a “mass shooting”, so we should always give our definition and make sure we’re applying the same definition to both operands (notably, by most common definitions, Australia has had several mass shootings and quite a few more mass murders since 1996). We should also adjust for known dependent variables, like population, population density, crime rates, number of guns in circulation (i.e., we would intuitively expect fewer mass shootings from a small, sparse, low-abiding country with few guns in circulation irrespective of gun laws)—Australia has only 8% of the US population and only 10% of the density—not sure about crime rates. I also suspect there were fewer guns in circulation prior to 1996, so even if officials could get the same share removed from the US market, it would likely leave more guns in circulation than in America (even adjusting for population, etc)—I also doubt Americans would be as willing to give up their guns as Australians were in ‘96, so the odds that America could get the same share of guns off the market as Australia did seems unlikely. That said, I’ve read that Australia’s gun count has crept back up to pre-96 levels (not sure if that is per capita or not), which is interesting—potentially it suggests there’s something else going on: either it matters what type of guns are banned (e.g., semi-automatic handguns), or perhaps there’s an altogether different reason or hidden factor behind the decline in Australian mass shootings. In any case, mass shootings is probably the wrong metric, but rather we probably want to look at number of mass murder deaths overall (presumably some people switch to stabbings or arson, but both of these are probably result in fewer fatalities). It’s also not clear to me why we fixate on mass murders/shootings rather than homicides overall—is it really worse when 10 people are killed all at once rather than 10000 people killed individually?

renaudg 4y ago
Use any other country you like as a comparison. The UK for example changed gun laws after a mass school shooting 26 years ago. Not a single one since.
- quantumwannabe 4y ago
  Not true. There was one literally less than a year ago: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plymouth_shooting https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plymouth_shooting Another one in 2018: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_Moss_Side_shooting https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_Moss_Side_shooting And another in 2010: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cumbria_shootings https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cumbria_shootings And in 2009: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massereene_Barracks_shooting https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massereene_Barracks_shooting Britain has also had numerous mass stabbings, bombings, and vehicle ramming attacks.
  - renaudg 4y ago
    > Not true. There was one literally less than a year ago: School mass shootings. The last one in the UK definitely was in 1996 (17 dead), after which gun control laws were tightened : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunblane_massacre https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunblane_massacre But let's take a look at your examples : > https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plymouth_shooting https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plymouth_shooting (2021) 6 dead. It was the first fatal mass shooting in the UK since the Cumbria shootings of 2010. In response, the Home Office announced that it would issue updated guidelines for firearms licence applications. >Another one in 2018: >https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_Moss_Side_shooting https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_Moss_Side_shooting No fatalities. Mass shootings are rare in the UK, with the most recent previous being a spree shooting in Cumbria in 2010, and the one before a school shooting in Dunblane in 1996. > And another in 2010: > https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cumbria_shootings https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cumbria_shootings 12 dead. Along with the 1987 Hungerford massacre and the 1996 Dunblane school massacre, it is one of the worst criminal acts involving firearms in British history. >And in 2009: >https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massereene_Barracks_shooting https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massereene_Barracks_shooting 2 soldiers dead. That's a total of 37 deaths to mass shootings in the UK in 26 years. Let's see where the US is at : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mass_shootings_in_the_United_States_in_2022 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mass_shootings_in_the_... 202 mass shootings, 221 deaths in the first 4 months of 2022 What was your point again ?
    - 4y ago

renaudg 4y ago

Use any other country you like as a comparison. The UK for example changed gun laws after a mass school shooting 26 years ago. Not a single one since.

quantumwannabe 4y ago
Not true. There was one literally less than a year ago: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plymouth_shooting https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plymouth_shooting Another one in 2018: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_Moss_Side_shooting https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_Moss_Side_shooting And another in 2010: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cumbria_shootings https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cumbria_shootings And in 2009: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massereene_Barracks_shooting https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massereene_Barracks_shooting Britain has also had numerous mass stabbings, bombings, and vehicle ramming attacks.
- renaudg 4y ago
  > Not true. There was one literally less than a year ago: School mass shootings. The last one in the UK definitely was in 1996 (17 dead), after which gun control laws were tightened : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunblane_massacre https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunblane_massacre But let's take a look at your examples : > https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plymouth_shooting https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plymouth_shooting (2021) 6 dead. It was the first fatal mass shooting in the UK since the Cumbria shootings of 2010. In response, the Home Office announced that it would issue updated guidelines for firearms licence applications. >Another one in 2018: >https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_Moss_Side_shooting https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_Moss_Side_shooting No fatalities. Mass shootings are rare in the UK, with the most recent previous being a spree shooting in Cumbria in 2010, and the one before a school shooting in Dunblane in 1996. > And another in 2010: > https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cumbria_shootings https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cumbria_shootings 12 dead. Along with the 1987 Hungerford massacre and the 1996 Dunblane school massacre, it is one of the worst criminal acts involving firearms in British history. >And in 2009: >https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massereene_Barracks_shooting https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massereene_Barracks_shooting 2 soldiers dead. That's a total of 37 deaths to mass shootings in the UK in 26 years. Let's see where the US is at : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mass_shootings_in_the_United_States_in_2022 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mass_shootings_in_the_... 202 mass shootings, 221 deaths in the first 4 months of 2022 What was your point again ?
  - 4y ago