These are two handwritten letters written by an Australian couple in 1996 to prime minister John Howard. They wrote them to express support for John Howard’s efforts to strengthen firearm laws in Australia following the Port Arthur massacre.

The Port Arthur massacre occurred on 28 April 1996 at the historic site of Port Arthur in Tasmania. A lone gunman killed 35 people and injured many others using semiautomatic firearms. 

At the time of the Port Arthur massacre, firearm laws varied considerably across Australian states and territories. The Port Arthur gunman owned three firearms, including one he purchased from a newspaper advertisement, despite never holding a gun licence. 

Following the Port Arthur massacre, prime minister John Howard vowed to act quickly to reform and strengthen gun laws nationwide. This endeavour would require co-operation across the federation, because responsibility for gun laws sits primarily with the states.

At an emergency meeting held by Howard in Canberra 12 days after the massacre, an historic agreement – known as the National Firearms Agreement (NFA) – was reached between relevant state and territory police ministers.

The National Firearms Agreement received considerable public attention. Although a majority of Australians were in support of the NFA, many recreational shooters and farmers believed that their ability to own certain firearms should not be restricted because of one individual's murderous actions.

A number of pro-gun rallies were held across the country, particularly in regional areas. John Howard attended some of these rallies personally to explain the proposed laws to disgruntled members of the public. He was famously photographed wearing a bullet-proof vest while addressing the crowd at a pro-gun rally in the Victorian town of Sale. 

Despite this vocal opposition, a majority of Australians believed stricter gun laws would protect the community from future acts of senseless violence. Citizens in favour of the NFA also sought to be heard by the prime minister, as this record illustrates.

All state and territory parliaments created laws to enact changes agreed to in the NFA. These changes included:

• All gun-owners require a licence
• All firearms need to be registered
• Gun-owners need a genuine reason for owning a firearm – and this does not include self-defence
• A ban on all semi-automatic rifles and pump-action shotguns.

In 1996-1997, the Australian Government also initiated a gun buyback scheme and amnesty that paid approximately $304 million to gun owners across Australia in exchange for their firearms. Around 600 000 weapons – representing about 1/3 of all privately owned guns in Australia – were surrendered to the government and later destroyed.

There has been a significant reduction in gun violence in Australia since these sweeping reforms to gun laws were made in 1996. Australians continue to make their voices heard on the issue of gun control nationally and internationally today.