I Gave You Power: Nas’ Plea for Gun Control Remains Relevant

A 1996 song told from the perspective of a handgun endures as a powerful allegory of urban violence

On April 29, 1996, 28-year-old Martin Bryant set out to eat lunch at the Broad Arrow café in Port Arthur, Tasmania—an Australian penal colony that was transformed into a bustling tourist attraction. After Bryant finished his meal, he proceeded to carry out a killing spree that claimed the lives of 35 people and wounded an additional 23. Bryant, believed to suffer from mental illness, was armed with several semi-automatic rifles during the attack. He is currently serving 35 life sentences in prison.

In the days following, former Prime Minister John Howard helped construct strict gun reform laws that have since prevented another similar attack. Howard, the newly-elected head of Australia’s conservative Liberal Party, reached across the political aisle in order to pass legislation that prohibited the sale and ownership of rapid-fire long guns and semi-automatic rifles. The resolution — known as the Nationwide Agreement on Firearms — would also obtain more than 700,000 firearms with its buyback program.

In an op-ed for The New York Times in 2013, Howard stated that the legislation reduced gun-related homicides and lowered the…