In response to a 1996 mass shooting that left 35 people dead, Australia overhauled the country’s gun laws. Six months after the massacre, Australia had an automatic and semi-automatic rifles bans in place, required a 28-day period for gun purchases, created a national firearm registry, and bought back and destroyed about 650,000 civilian owned firearms. The overhaul achieved its goals. According to the Harvard Injury Control Research Center, in the 18 years before the 1996 massacre, there were 13 mass shootings in Australia. In the 11 years after the massacre -- and the gun control legislation -- there were none. The rates of both firearm related homicides and suicide in the years following the legislation were basically half what they were before.