Skip to main content
Subscribe
  • Login
  • My Account
  • Logout
  • Register For Free
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Current News
    • Providers
    • Insurance
    • Government
    • Finance
    • Technology
    • Safety & Quality
    • Digital Health
    • Transformation
    • ESG
    • People
    • Regional News
    • Digital Edition (Web Version)
    • Patients
    • Operations
    • Care Delivery
    • Payment
    • Midwest
    • Northeast
    • South
    • West
  • Blogs
    • AI
    • Deals
    • Layoff Tracker
    • HLTH 2024
    • Sponsored Content: Vital Signs Blog
  • Opinion
    • Letters
    • From the Editor
  • Events & Awards
    • Awards
    • Conferences
    • Galas
    • Virtual Briefings
    • Webinars
    • Nominate/Eligibility
    • 100 Most Influential People
    • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
    • 40 Under 40
    • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
    • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
    • Innovators Awards
    • Diversity Leaders
    • Leading Women
    • Best in Business Awards
    • The 2030 Playbook Conference
    • Innovations in Patient Experience
    • Leading Women Conference & Awards Luncheon
    • Leadership Summit
    • Workforce Summit
    • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
    • Diversity Leaders Gala
    • - Looking Ahead to 2025
    • - Financial Growth
    • - Hospital of the Future
    • - Value Based Care
    • - Looking Ahead to 2026
  • Multimedia
    • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
    • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
    • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
    • Sponsored Video Series - Checking In with Dan Peres
  • Data & Insights
    • Data & Insights Home
    • Hospital Financials
    • Staffing & Compensation
    • Quality & Safety
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Skilled Nursing Facilities
    • Data Archive
    • Resource Guide: By the Numbers
    • Surveys
    • Data Points
  • Newsletters
  • MORE+
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Media Kit
    • Jobs
    • People on the Move
    • Reprints & Licensing
    • Sponsored Content
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. Government
June 22, 2016 12:00 AM

Australia reports no mass shootings, drop in firearms deaths after strict gun control measures

Steven Ross Johnson
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print

    After 35 people in Australia were killed by firearms in 1996, the government passed a number of strict gun control measures, including the ban of rapid-fire rifles, a mandatory buyback of previously owned weapons, mandated gun ownership licenses and a firearms registry.

    More than 1 million privately owned firearms were surrendered or seized, then melted down. In the 20 years since then, Australia, a federation of states, has had zero mass shootings and has witnessed a decline in deaths caused by firearms, according to a new study published Wednesday in JAMA.

    Researchers used government statistics on firearm-related deadly incidents between 1979 and 2013. Prior to the law's implementation, there had been 13 mass shootings, on average two every three years, for some time. Mass shootings in the study were defined as five or more victims killed by gunshot, not counting the perpetrators.

    “We are unaware of any other nation that has enacted such a substantial change in gun laws as has been implemented in Australia. Comparative studies of Australia's experience with broadly comparable nations would provide further evidence of the effects of such law reform,” the authors wrote.

    The study also pointed to a more rapid decline in the rate of total firearm deaths in the country in the years following implementation of the gun laws, where the average went from 3.6 deaths for every 100,000 people between 1979 and 1996 to 1.2 per 100,000 between 1997 and 2013.

    The researchers cautioned they could not determine whether the gun control measure had any impact on the decline. They pointed out a decline in the rate of suicides and homicide deaths that did not involve firearms was faster after 1996 than the rate of decline for suicides and homicides that did .

    In a corresponding editorial, Daniel Webster, a professor of health policy and management at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, noted the challenges in trying to link the policies with trends that may have occurred if such laws were never put in place. He said that diminished access to rapid rifles could have eliminated mass shootings over the past two decades.

    “It is difficult to pinpoint precisely which aspect of the policy contributed to this success, but the substantial reduction in the population's exposure to semiautomatic long guns capable of accepting large-capacity magazines for ammunition is likely to have been key,” Webster wrote.

    "Australia's experience shows that banning rapid-fire firearms was associated with reductions in mass shootings and total firearm deaths. In today's context, these findings offer an example which, with public support and political courage, might reduce gun deaths in other countries," said study author Simon Chapman.

    In fact, despite the recent mass shooting in Orlando, Fla., the deadliest in U.S. history, lawmakers remain gridlocked in the debate over public safety and Second Amendment rights. The impasse continued Wednesday, when 40 Democratic Congressmen staged a sit-in on the Capitol floor demanding a vote on gun control legislation.

    Another attempt at passing gun control legislation failed this week after U.S. senators could not get enough bipartisan support behind toughening background checks and keeping firearms out of the hands of those suspected of terrorist activity.

    Webster stated it was highly unlikely the kind of reforms implemented in Australia would pass in the U.S., given the "political, cultural and legal" barriers. The issue over what form gun control policy in this country should take is further complicated by the fact that for 20 years, there has been an effective ban on federally funded gun violence research.

    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Send us a letter

    Have an opinion about this story? Click here to submit a Letter to the Editor, and we may publish it in print.

    Recommended for You
    Legal-government-0225
    HHS lawsuit by Democratic AGs aims to stop restructuring, layoffs
    GettyImages-654573744.jpg
    Federal watchdog to retract medical debt collection opinion
    Most Popular
    1
    Here are new state healthcare laws taking effect in 2025
    2
    Meet Modern Healthcare's 2025 Leading Women
    3
    New York-Presbyterian layoffs affect 2% of employees
    4
    Evernorth, Optum, CenterWell units buoyed insurers in Q1
    5
    Epic CEO Judy Faulkner on AI, antitrust and consolidation
    Sponsored Content
    Modern Healthcare Alert: Sign up for this breaking news email to be kept in the loop as urgent healthcare business news unfolds.
    Get Newsletters

    Sign up for enewsletters and alerts to receive breaking news and in-depth coverage of healthcare events and trends, as they happen, right to your inbox.

    Subscribe Today
    MH Magazine Cover

    MH magazine offers content that sheds light on healthcare leaders’ complex choices and touch points—from strategy, governance, leadership development and finance to operations, clinical care, and marketing.

    Subscribe
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS

    Our Mission

    Modern Healthcare empowers industry leaders to succeed by providing unbiased reporting of the news, insights, analysis and data.

    Contact Us

    (877) 812-1581

    Email us

     

    Resources
    • Contact Us
    • Help Center
    • Advertise with Us
    • Ad Choices
    • Sitemap
    Editorial Dept
    • Submission Guidelines
    • Code of Ethics
    • Awards
    • About Us
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Modern Healthcare
    Copyright © 1996-2025. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Current News
      • Providers
      • Insurance
      • Government
      • Finance
      • Technology
      • Safety & Quality
      • Digital Health
      • Transformation
        • Patients
        • Operations
        • Care Delivery
        • Payment
      • ESG
      • People
      • Regional News
        • Midwest
        • Northeast
        • South
        • West
      • Digital Edition (Web Version)
    • Blogs
      • AI
      • Deals
      • Layoff Tracker
      • HLTH 2024
      • Sponsored Content: Vital Signs Blog
    • Opinion
      • Letters
      • From the Editor
    • Events & Awards
      • Awards
        • Nominate/Eligibility
        • 100 Most Influential People
        • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
        • 40 Under 40
        • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
        • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
        • Innovators Awards
        • Diversity Leaders
        • Leading Women
        • Best in Business Awards
      • Conferences
        • The 2030 Playbook Conference
        • Innovations in Patient Experience
        • Leading Women Conference & Awards Luncheon
        • Leadership Summit
        • Workforce Summit
      • Galas
        • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
        • Diversity Leaders Gala
      • Virtual Briefings
        • - Looking Ahead to 2025
        • - Financial Growth
        • - Hospital of the Future
        • - Value Based Care
        • - Looking Ahead to 2026
      • Webinars
    • Multimedia
      • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
      • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
      • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
      • Sponsored Video Series - Checking In with Dan Peres
    • Data & Insights
      • Data & Insights Home
      • Hospital Financials
      • Staffing & Compensation
      • Quality & Safety
      • Mergers & Acquisitions
      • Skilled Nursing Facilities
      • Data Archive
      • Resource Guide: By the Numbers
      • Surveys
      • Data Points
    • Newsletters
    • MORE+
      • Contact Us
      • Advertise
      • Media Kit
      • Jobs
      • People on the Move
      • Reprints & Licensing
      • Sponsored Content