Another shooting in the US today, adding to fears of growing political violence. A gunman in Texas fired into an ICE field office, killing three detainees before turning the gun on himself.
Just like the person who tried to kill Trump, just like the person who killed Charlie Kirk... this seems to be the actions of a disturbed young man with no clear signs of political allegiance, or even a clear motive.
It made me realise... I'm not sure Americans appreciate what it's actually like living in a country with almost no guns.
While we are experiencing a degree of the polarisation and political volatility that the US has, the tension isn't the same because the fear of gratuitous violence isn't the same.
Remember, teenage boys in Australia consume almost the exact same media as those in the USA. They play the same video games, listen to the same podcasters, they're sold the same grievances (though they are substantially less likely to go to church).
But crucially, almost none of them have access to a firearm. It seems increasingly obvious that letting alienated and emotionally unstable young men, often with untreated mental health issues, possess military grade weapons for a hobby is... insane.
Before I became a Federal Agent, I had never touched a gun, let alone fire one. The only firearms I had ever seen in Australia were in the holsters of police officers, and most Australians would be the same.
To this day, I have only ever fired two types of firearm in my life, both on the firing range within my Police headquarters. In my decade of service, I never needed to operationally discharge my firearm. I probably had to draw it less than 15 times.
I never once approached an offender, car, or home, with the genuine fear of encountering a firearm, which made the likelihood of me "accidentally shooting" someone as they reached for something significantly lower. If we believed there was even the slim chance that a gun would be involved, a tactical team would be deployed.
Even today, I don't have a single friend who owns a gun. It's not in our culture, but it's also bloody hard to get one.
In my state, for example, you are not even allowed to hold someone else's firearm unless have a firearms licence. To get one of those you must either be a member of a target shooting club, a hunter, or need one for your job. If you have a criminal record, a domestic violence allegation, or the Police have concerns about your character for any reason, you will not be granted a licence (or have it taken away).
Once you complete the appropriate course, you may purchase a firearm commensurate to your purpose (e.g. pistol for target shooting, hunting rifle for hunting etc.). There is no genuine reason for anyone to have automatic or military grade weapons, so no licenses are granted.
If you own a firearm, it must be stored in a secure safe which Police can demand to inspect at any time. Failing to secure it appropriately is a criminal offence. This makes the theft of firearms very rare, but of course they are still available on the black market... if you have the cash and the connections.
To buy a black market handgun in Australia will generally set you back around $15,000, and that's assuming you find the right person to ask before the police hear about you. So while a wealthy underworld figure might be able to source a firearm to take out a gangland rival; your average teenager, religious fundamentalist, or radicalised ideologue, simply cannot get one by themselves. No small time crook has the money for an illegal firearm, because almost nothing they can steal will be worth more than that gun.
Do I fear a tyrannical government? Sure, which is why we have elections every three years. If they get cancelled and someone tries to implement some authoritarian rule? Well, taking on the Australian military with my AR15 really isn't going to cut it. They have tanks.
...and to be honest, watching authoritarianism take over the US without a shot being fired from these "well organised militias" has made it obvious to everyone how redundant this excuse is.
I appreciate the sheer number of guns already saturating the USA makes it all but impossible to put the genie back in the bottle, but stop blaming this on politics... it's the guns. It's always been the guns.
