Changes
Moving paragraphs on UK and Australia to "...outside US"
'''Gun control''' laws restrict the purchase or ownership of guns, a weapon acquired mostly for defensive or sporting purposes. Gun control is unique among social programs in increasing the emotional and physical dependency of ''all'' voters on government. Because gun control increases the dependence of voters on government, its political effect is to shift the electorate leftward, and the primary supporters of gun control are the [[liberal media]] and [[leftist]] politicians.<ref>[http://www.gmu.edu/departments/economics/wew/quotes/repeal.html Quotes of Leftists Demanding Gun Control]</ref> In the [[United Kingdom]], which already has the strictest gun control in Europe, [[leftists]] demand control over 120,000 ''deactivated'' guns, even though their activation and use constitute only 0.04% of all gun offenses there; fewer guns means greater dependency on government.<ref>http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article3168607.ece</ref> In [[Australia]], [[leftist]] insistence on more gun control has been driven by the [[liberal]] media based on statistically insignificant but highly publicized shootings. "[O]n 28 April 1996, 32 people were shot to death, 19 were seriously injured, and three others were otherwise killed near Port Arthur, Tasmania [in Australia]. The public was immediately whipped into a gun control frenzy by the press ... and others."<ref>"Although polls done prior to the massacre indicated that the public was satisfied with the amount of 'gun control' they already had, a major newspaper did a poll just a few days after the massacre (while all minds were 'clear') and, not surprisingly, found high levels of support for extreme gun control measures. This poll would be used forever ...."[http://www.gunsandcrime.org/aussiegc.html]</ref><ref>"For example, The Australian newspaper ran an editorial on Monday October 7, 2002 in which it stated, 'Most voters ... seek nothing less than the strongest gun laws available.' ... The point is that the media are again in a frenzy about guns. ... Why am I not surprised that this is all happening in Australia at the same time as there is a rogue sniper on the loose in America?"[http://www.class.org.au/The%20next%20round%20in%20gun%20control.htm]</ref> The passage of gun control in Australia in 1996 and its expansion in 2002 has led to a complete takeover of all nine federal, state and territory legislatures by the Labor Party, the first time a single party has ever achieved this in Australian history.<ref>The Sydney Morning Herald - [http://www.smh.com.au/news/federal-election-2007-news/either-way-its-history-in-the-making/2007/11/23/1195753310949.html Either way, it's history in the making]</ref><ref>ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) - [http://www.abc.net.au/elections/federal/2007/ 2007 Federal Election]</ref>
Gun control is a denial or limitation by [[government]]s of the right to armed [[self-defense]],<ref name="Washington University Law Quarterly"> "In contrast to most other weaponry, firearms are preeminently defensive in effect." [http://www.constitution.org/2ll/2ndschol/76holo.htm Washington University Law Quarterly]</ref> as promised by the [[Second Amendment]] of the Constitution of the [[United States of America]]. Genocide has occurred only after gun control first disarmed the citizenry.<ref name="Washington University Law Quarterly"/>
In the [[European Union]], gun control is more strict than in the United States, but gun ownership differs widely between member states, from 36 per 100 people in [[Cyprus]] to one per 100 in [[Poland]].<ref name="EU">http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/11/29/europe/union.php EU legislators push tougher gun controls</ref> In November 2007, the [[European Parliament]] passed legislation to tighten and harmonize gun control across the EU, and oblige each member state to set up a computerized database of firearms, as it "hoped to prevent Europe from becoming a gun-friendly culture like the United States".<ref name="EU" /> Parliament wanted to limit cross-border trade from states with less control to those with tougher laws, such as from [[Lithuania]], where replica guns can cost as little as [[Euro|€]]100 (US$150), to the [[United Kingdom]], where all replicas are outlawed.<ref name="EU" />
In [[Australia]], [[leftist]] insistence on more gun control has been driven by the [[liberal]] media based on statistically insignificant but highly publicized shootings. "[O]n 28 April 1996, 32 people were shot to death, 19 were seriously injured, and three others were otherwise killed near Port Arthur, Tasmania [in Australia]. The public was immediately whipped into a gun control frenzy by the press ... and others."<ref>"Although polls done prior to the massacre indicated that the public was satisfied with the amount of 'gun control' they already had, a major newspaper did a poll just a few days after the massacre (while all minds were 'clear') and, not surprisingly, found high levels of support for extreme gun control measures. This poll would be used forever ...."[http://www.gunsandcrime.org/aussiegc.html]</ref><ref>"For example, The Australian newspaper ran an editorial on Monday October 7, 2002 in which it stated, 'Most voters ... seek nothing less than the strongest gun laws available.' ... The point is that the media are again in a frenzy about guns. ... Why am I not surprised that this is all happening in Australia at the same time as there is a rogue sniper on the loose in America?"[http://www.class.org.au/The%20next%20round%20in%20gun%20control.htm]</ref> The passage of gun control in Australia in 1996 and its expansion in 2002 has led to a complete takeover of all nine federal, state and territory legislatures by the Labor Party, the first time a single party has ever achieved this in Australian history.<ref>The Sydney Morning Herald - [http://www.smh.com.au/news/federal-election-2007-news/either-way-its-history-in-the-making/2007/11/23/1195753310949.html Either way, it's history in the making]</ref><ref>ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) - [http://www.abc.net.au/elections/federal/2007/ 2007 Federal Election]</ref>
== Gun Control and Genocide ==
Gun control "contributes to the probability of its government engaging" in [[genocide]], including the three worst instances in the 20th century:<ref>"[A] society's weapons policy might be one of the institutional arrangements that contributes to the probability of its government engaging in some of the more extreme varieties of outrage. ... [I]t is [] an arresting reality that not one of the principal genocides of the twentieth century, and there have been dozens, has been inflicted on a population that was armed." [http://ls.wustl.edu/WULQ/75-3/753-4.html Washington University Law Quarterly]</ref>
