Following a shooting at a cafe in Sydney, Australia, Monday, at least one Liberal Democratic lawmaker is openly criticizing the nation’s stringent gun laws, suggesting that they leave citizens unarmed and defenseless in the face of evil.
“What happened in that cafe would have been most unlikely to have occurred in Florida, Texas, or Vermont, or Alaska in America, or perhaps even Switzerland as well,” senator David Leyonhjelm told the ABC’s AM program.
“Statistically speaking” in those places, “one or two of the victims” would have had a concealed firearm, he continued.
“That nutcase who held them all hostage wouldn’t have known they were armed and bad guys don’t like to be shot back at,” said Leyonhjelm.
The “nutcase” Leyonhjelm was referring to was 50-year-old Man Haron Monis, an iranian born cleric. Using a shotgun that he obtained illegally, Monis took 17 people hostage in a cafe in downtown Sydney on Monday. Police eventually raided the cafe to free the hostages but during the melee three people were killed, including Monis.
Australian senator David Leyonhjelm. (Photo: AAP)
“It would have been illegal for them [The hostages] to have had a knife, a stick, a pepper spray, a personal taser, mace, anything like that for self-defence,” Leyonhjelm elaborated, referring to Australia’s laws which heavily restrict one’s fundamental right of self-defense in the public square.
“I regard that [as] an absolute travesty. To turn an entire population into a nation of victims is just unforgivable in my estimation.”
Leyonhjelm also condemned recently enacted laws aimed at preventing violence.
“We’ve got tougher laws, they were introduced by the Government just in the last few months, they did nothing to prevent this bloke from committing evil acts in the name of Islamism,” Senator Leyonhjelm said.
“They didn’t prevent him from getting a gun. It’s just not acceptable that we are all disarmed victims.”
Hi All, I’m from Australia, Victoria to be precise where we have had firearms registration for as long as I can remember (over 30yrs) our firearms laws have been evolving (in a bad way) for all of that time. In the mid 1980’s after a couple of nut cases killed 7 or 8 people each we lost our right to once off firearms licencing. I got my first licence in 1983 and it was a $25 life time licence. then they pulled that and went to 5 year licences, now its $50 a year. we then got application to acquire forms pushed onto us along with an associated cost for each form. You have to now show multiple genuine reasons to own a firearm, and self defence is not considered a genuine reason. then in the mid 90’s another nut case with an illegal firearm killed 35 people in one go. For that we lost the right to own semi automatic rifles, semi auto and pump action shot guns. we have magazine capacity limits we have very stringent storage requirements with police checks periodically to make sure we conform to the rules.
Australian’s unlike Americans have never had the constitutionally based right to own firearms, its always been a state mandated privilege, but unfortunately over the last 20yrs in particular there has been a growing anti gun stance amongst all of our politicians, media and city based population. our political system is very complicated, you don’t just vote for an individual, theres a preference system as well which means your vote through a complicated set of political party agreements could end up supporting something you do not support at all. All the major parties are in bed with each other to a certain degree so you cant get away from this fact. Put on top of that system the fact that it is illegal not to vote. this means theres 22 million votes up for grabs every federal election and these votes get used to do all sorts of things that a great deal of normal Australians do not want.
Some of you talk about revolution!! what a load of crap, you would end up with small disjointed groups being hunted down, you don’t have the political clout or the overall numbers to defeat your government. your best bet is to use your political system to prevent laws and rules being passed. Now in the States you do not have to vote, and I would say the vast majority of you do not vote, and that is why you have the ”Ivey league” running your country. In the US as in Australia the vast majority of the people are just to apathetic to do anything about securing their own rights etc until its too late.
The only thing that stops an armed badguy is an armed goodguy.
Not to mention, North Carolina or almost any southern state, Arizona, Nevada, Utah or almost any western state, etc. With 49 of 50 states with concealed carry laws and 43+ out of 50 with shall issue laws (assuming I remember correctly). With the surge in concealed carry and more importantly folks taking professionally taught classes in defensive use of firearms plus action shooting sports the frequency of interaction between gun owners and particularly licensed concealed carry folks has and is increasing at a rapid rate while despite the financial hardships of the last few years and the crime that always generates violent crime rates are and have been falling. There has been a small increase in property crimes in a few specific areas, largely due to local police forces being smaller post recession, crime as a whole is down in the US. It would be silly to ignore the increase in gun ownership, training and concealed carry as a significant part of that formula.
Your right BRASS.
You should see how busy the Orange County Sheriffs Department is here in So. CA with CCW licenses.
Solid flow 24/7.
Bad guys will learn soon not to hang out here and move to LA or SF for crime.
I have to ask why a sniper did not shoot the hostage-taker. In the video he was visible through a window more than once. In a 16 hr siege I wonder if there were not numerous opportunities to shoot him instead of going in with a frontal assault and killing 2 hostages.
Of course the phony safety provided by Australia’s disarmament of civilians is the message that needs to come out of this. But those here in the U.S. who most need to hear it have already demonstrated their deafness to common sense too many times.
Easy answer. You are mistakenly thinking of the hostages as people. Since they have no right to self defense, they are \”victims\”, just waiting for a crime. In this case, they became \”collateral damage\”, another term for \”victim\”.
Thanks.
I agree with Gunnutz Armory. Blah and Corruptcom sound like typical liberals…….. blame someone else. (i.e. the short sighted politicians) Take a stand, if that is tried in the USA, there will be a Revolution ! One can only take so much bad judgement from it’s “short sighted politicians” when it comes to “Life and Liberty” and the right for self defense. ……… and stop calling the public innocent victims unless you clarify that it is of their own doing.
I agree with Gunnutz Armory. Blah and Corruptcom sound like typical liberals…….. blame someone else. (i.e. the short sighted politicians) Take a stand, if that is tried in the USA, there will be a Revolution ! One can only take so much bad judgement from it’s “short sighted politicians” when it comes to “Life and Liberty” and the right for self defense. ……… and stop calling the public innocent victims unless you clarify that it is of their own doing.
Joe, I know you people from other states think our voting system is flawless
So you think we’re responsible for voting in these anti-gun Democrats.
I guess you don’t realize how much Democrats and their socialist friends cheat the vote?
Or how the Chinese and Iranians hacked into our systems here in California.
Our only solution is to recount the vote when Dems win.
I’m a Republican of 55 years here in California.
Nobody I know votes for Democrats, except the entitled generation or uneducated youth, illegal aliens, people with their hands out for all that free stuff they were promised
When there’s a recount, it usually proves they cheated with electronically default to Dems candidate, multiple votes, dead people, convicts, illegal aliens, cartoon characters, and even your pet goldfish.
Since republicans don’t cheat, we lose.
I’m saying your view of Blah and Corruption, is mistakenly wrong.
You don’t know it but your states are next.
It’s the coast they want first.
If socialist/communist can clear the coast, it will make our country easier to invade.
THE PEOPLE OF AUSTRALIA DID THIS TO THEMSELVES! WHEN THE GOVERNMENT WANTED TO TAKE AWAY THE GUNS, ALL PEOPLE SHOULD HAVE GAVE THEM THE BULLETS FIRST. THAT COUNTRY IS A LESSON FOR ALL OTHERS.
Not cool.
First off, these laws were passed a long time ago, that a whole new generation is stuck with, without having had any say in the matter. Second, bad laws can be passed by good people who lose sight of reality due to tragedy. Even smart people can lose their heads in the wake of a tragedy such as Newtown or the Port Arthur Massacre.
I hate when I hear that. There are plenty of people in California who don’t agree with the laws, and campaign often to change them. But sadly sometimes that’s just not enough.
Australia’s people most certainly did not “do it to themselves” and I don’t like the implied notion that this attack was somehow deserved. Short-sighted politicians too scared to stand up to emotionally charged public, disarmed these innocent people. Those are the ones who are responsible. Not the victims.
What??? “Australia’s people most certainly did not do it to themselves….”
I’m pretty sure that Australia is a democracy with a parliamentarian form of government.
If the Australian people chose their representatives, or at least chose those that end up choosing who controls the government, they are, indeed, the ones that are responsible for what those leaders did.
If the people had absolutely no say in who leads them, they are simple subjects who do as they are told and ask no questions of their masters. In other words, they would be automatons.
I recall a letter to the editor of the American Rifleman Magazine, published by the NRA. The letter was written by an Australian and it contained a warning. “Whatever you Americans do, never submit to a gun registration regulation.” He went on to say “We were told that registering our guns was only needed to fight crime and that the government would never demand that the legally owned guns be turned in, (confiscated)”. He wrote that shortly thereafter, the government did exactly what they promised not to do. His message was aimed at the Americans who owned firearms.
There is only one reason a government would demand the registration of privately owned firearms, namely as a prelude to gun confiscation. It is the natural inclination of governments to seek control of the people. In free democracies, the people control the government by voting. All tyrants, and would-be tyrants like obama, understand that you can not abuse the inherent rights of an armed populace.
Well put, sir. Thanks for reminding us of what was said to us years ago when the travesty of gun confiscation was inflicted upon the Australians. I also recall the response of that government to the increase in violent crime perpetrated by armed criminals the following year: they confiscated knives as well.
Well done you said it all for me.
The “people” never do it to themselves, except for voting for politicians who turn around to screw them from behind. Same agenda has been pushed for decades in the U.S. Fortunately, there are a few pols who still possess both balls, serving as a stopgap in the federal establishment.
Same thing happened in England years ago, and will happen in the U.S. if the liberals gain much more ground. Don’t know who said it, but we’re one generation away from losing our rights to defend ourselves because of slick marketing from the socialists and apathetic citizenry. Educate your kids NOW….
It’s the elite moneyed class that wants TOTAL control of the 90%’s habits, property, communications, and wealth. If you cant see that both parties come from the same mostly Ivy League colleges, DC thinktanks, Wall Street, and elite membership societies, then you are still asleep.
Not even a boomerang?