This graph shows the total firearm death rate in Australia from 1979-2003. (Image obtained from Philip Alpers)

An Australian study has highlighted an accelerated decrease in firearm deaths since the country significantly strengthened its gun laws in 1996.

The new study comes several months after pro-gun academics published a report claiming the gun laws had no effect on firearm deaths. Because firearm death and injury rates had already been dropping prior to 1996 amendments, the authors said the reduction in injuries and deaths post-1996 was a continuing trend and not a result of the amended law.  

The new study, published in the journal Injury Prevention, notes the downward trend, but says gun deaths declined significantly faster after 1996, most likely due to the new laws.

“The total number of gun deaths per year fell from 521 in 1996 to 289 in 2003, suggesting that the removal of more than 700,000 guns was associated with a faster declining rate of gun suicide and gun homicide,” said Philip Alpers, one of the report’s four authors.

Australia’s gun laws were reformed following the murder of 35 people at Port Arthur in Tasmania – the largest massacre by a single gunman ever recorded in any country.