The next time you hear a politician call for commonsense gun control, listen for the details.

You are likely to be treated to a torrent of platitudes about assault weapons, gun

shows sales, and other half measures.

These sorts of proposals are rooted in a theory of gun control that has been around since

the 1960s.

The basic idea is that fewer guns equal less gun crime.

But for this theory to have even a chance of working, drastic reductions in the supply

of guns will be necessary.

Something else amounts to security theater.

The late Senator Howard Metzonbaum, a strong gun control advocate, explained it this way.

If you don't ban all guns, you might as well ban none of them.

But few of any politicians who call for commonsense gun control have the courage to propose this.

Even putting aside the issue of the Second Amendment to the Constitution, which affirms

the right to keep in bear arms, a gun ban has no broad popular support.

Never mind the conservative states.

Handgun ban referendums failed by large margins and two of our most liberal states.

Massachusetts in 1976 and California in 1982.

No serious attempts have been made since then.

Recently, Australia's gun control efforts have gained new prominence as a possible model

for the United States to follow.

Let's take a closer look at Australia.

In 1996, after a lunatic used a semi-automatic rifle to murder 34 people in Tasmania, the

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