France, Great Britain and Australian have some of the strictest gun laws in the world. In a mandatory government “buyback” program, Australian gun owners were forced to relinquish their guns — or go to jail, removing nearly 661,000 guns from law-abiding Aussies. Citizens were paid for their guns, but how do you put a price on security and freedom? One gun owner said, There’s no ifs or buts about it, by taking that gun away from me, they’ve stolen something from me.

How effective has Australia’s gun control program been? The NRA reported on a University of Melbourne and British Journal of Criminology study that took place 12 years after the imposed ban. The cold, hard facts cannot be denied:

• Armed robberies skyrocketed 69 percent
• Assaults involving guns rose 28 percent
• Gun murders increased 19 percent
• Home invasions jumped 21 percent

Over and over, the evidence shows that banning guns and imposing strict laws consistently raises homicide rates.