the shooter, martin bryant from new town, australia.is gun was a cold ar-15 rifle, automatic, the weapon used by the shooter in newtown, connecticut, by adam lanza, was also an ar-15. joining us now is rebecca peters. she later became director of the international action or on small arms. he was a senior fellow the open society in new yorkers to produce a landmark report, "gun control in the united states: a survey of state firearm laws." she is joining us today from san francisco. rebecca, welcome to "democracy now!" from newtown to new town, where the similarity. gun lovers in the united states, hunters and gun lovers in austria, at this moment shattered all of that in australia. explain what happened afterwards. >> in australia at the time, it was a country -- and still is a country where hunting is an important activity. australia went olympic medals in shooting. australia is a high premium placed on rustic masculinity. it has some similarities with the u.s.. another similarity is we had had in the previous couple of decades occasio