Australia has seen no mass shootings since it banned rapid fire long guns

In the 20 years since a mass shooting in Australia led to a ban on rapid fire long guns, the country has had no mass shootings and has seen an accelerated decline in total firearm deaths, Australian researchers report in a study.1 In the 18 years before the ban was enacted Australia had seen 13 fatal mass shootings.

All six states and two territories in Australia passed laws that banned rapid firing long guns, including those already in private ownership, and initiated a mandatory gun buyback programme of the prohibited firearms, after a man armed with two semiautomatic rifles killed 35 people and wounded …