Just days after the deadliest mass shooting in Australia since the 1996 Port Arthur massacre, pro-gun activists from across the world are using the event as fuel for their arguments.
Seven people, including four children, were found dead on a Western Australian property last week.
The estranged father of the children, Aaron Cockman, told press on Sunday that police had told him the children's grandfather, Peter Miles, had shot his daughter and four grandchildren, sleeping in their beds, before shooting his wife and calling the police. Miles was later found dead from a gunshot wound, Cockman said.
The shooting, which was reported last Friday, has opened the floodgates for pro-gun activists who are using the incident as "evidence" that strict gun laws do not work.
Australia's gun policy has long been heralded by politicians and the public as a successful method for reducing gun-related deaths. In the aftermath of the Port Arthur massacre then prime minister John Howard ordered an immediate gun buyback scheme that saw Australians hand in almost 700,000 guns.
Posts about the Margaret River shooting have flooded social media. On Reddit's pro-Trump subreddit r/TheDonald, members criticised the reporting of the event as a "tragedy" and mocked Australia's now-apparent lack of gun control in multiple submissions.
On Twitter and Facebook, pro-gun promoters used the Margaret River shooting to mock Australia's gun laws as well.
Mass shooting in Australia?! So, their tough gun laws didn't help? Seven people have been discovered dead in the town of Margaret River, near Perth, Australia, police say. They are believed to be victims of a mass shooting, with guns found nearby. Several victims are children. https://t.co/sq9X3Waei0
For those people who hate te bill of rights, want to ban guns in the US because they confuse crime and the 2nd amendment, and use Australia as an example that "works" https://t.co/B3BvFaJMN3
7 people are dead after a mass shooting in Australia, a country that prides itself on their gun laws and injects itself into our country’s gun debate with unfunny fools like @jimjefferies. This is an unfortunate example that further proves gun laws DO NOT stop evil people.
Mere hours after the tragedy in Margaret River and already people in the US are using it as a case against gun control https://t.co/Vd3SX7AZex
Australia just had a horrific mass shooting. Is that why the lefties piped down with the “Why can’t we be more like Australia” Chat?