warrior geeks

[Delaney, Timothy]

> >ESR's apparent fondness for Python. That sort of thing gives 
> me a fit of
> >the shudders (playing with guns, not ESR's fondness for Python). 
> 
> What are you?  Some kind of Commie?  Guns form the very foundation of
> the Pax Americana that gives you the freedom to use Python.

I hope there was a <wink> there that I missed ...

Australians in general are not overly keen on guns. Except for certain
security guards, non-military and non-police *cannot* get a license for a
handgun (and military and police cannot carry a gun unless on duty).
Likewise, it is almost impossible to buy ammunition for handguns.
Professional hunters can get a license for a semi-automatic rifle. I think
the most someone can get who is not a professional hunter can get is a
manual (bolt-action, level, etc) rifle or shotgun. In any case, I think
there is a mandatory 5-day cooling off period before you can actually get
your gun. However, I'm not sure on this as I've never even considered
getting a gun of any type. My father had a .22 bolt-action rifle when we
lived in the country for shooting foxes - it was kept in 3 pieces in various
parts of the house. Getting the bullets required taking a whole pile of
stuff out of the pantry, taking up a board in the floor and reaching down to
the bottom of a hole which an adult could only just reach.

This is a Good Thing(TM). I think a lot of people in the US don't realise
that the "right to bear arms" was devised when "arms" were single-shot
weapons and the US was attempting to secede from England. A lot of the
attitude of Americans really scares me. I'd much rather be here with our
multitude of venomous creatures than in the US. We've got anti-venine for
almost every venom in almost every hospital in Australia. There's no
anti-venine for a gunshot wound.

Tim Delaney

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