Clive Bibby: Changing gun legislation will change little

Rushed gun legislation is not the answer to terrorism, says Clive Bibby.

By Clive Bibby

It disturbs me that our first response to the Christchurch massacre is to look for politically acceptable measures that will stand no chance against the evil they are supposed to prevent.

And the politicians should know this - so why do they do it?

Sounds good, looks good but even as a quick fix, it will be a futile attempt at finding a solution.

Here's how it is supposed to work.

The normal procedure is to make sure the government's response is decisive and aimed at dealing with the public's perception of who or what is to blame.

Banning automatic guns through rushed legislation should do the job!

Unfortunately, this type of approach will have virtually no effect on the possibility of this sort of tragedy happening again but instead will compound existing unrelated problems as a result of this ineffective hip reaction.

It actually only offers a false sense of security for those who are concerned about their personal safety in our society.

In reality, those who are of a mind to perpetrate this type of horror on a public of any description will simply go back to the drawing board and work out some other way of carrying out the slaughter.

Most of these crimes against humanity are the work of deeply disturbed individuals who appear to operate in much the same way.

They seek the notoriety that comes with the publicity associated with their evil deeds and philosophy. The law of the land is irrelevant.

Prior to the execution of their meticulously calculated plans, they spend months, even years preparing for the main event. Countries like ours that have few laws restricting freedom of movement are tailor-made for this type of assault.

So, a change to laws they will ignore anyway will probably be seen initially as an obstacle to their plans for mass destruction but, in a relative sense, not an insurmountable one.

Contrary to popular opinion or the mistaken assurances given by politicians, the act of banning an automatic rifle from the shelves of legitimate sale outlets will have "diddly squat" effect on the type of facility used on the day of terror.

Just because a weapon or facility used as such is restricted or banned has virtually no influence on how these crimes are committed. If it can kill in the manner prescribed, that's all that matters.

They'll find a way to get hold of it - legally or illegally. And worse!

Whether it was legitimately owned or operated is of no consequence when the families of the deceased are struggling with their grief and looking for answers.

Those unfortunate people would be better served if our Government paid more attention to the security measures in place that are supposedly designed to limit the possibility of either our home grown or legally introduced maniacs operating with the freedom they currently do - eg How did the killer who was known to Aussie police get here in the first place?

The really sad thing about our reaction to this tragedy is that the recently rushed and consequently potentially bad legislation would probably not have saved a single innocent life at the Christchurch mosque and is unlikely to save others in the future.

A poor result all round. We must do better.

Clive Bibby is a fourth-generation member of a CHB farming family who has been
living in Tolaga Bay for the last 40 years. He is a social commentator, community
worker and heritage consultant.