News AU – by Stephanie Anderson
Senator David Leyonhjelm has labelled Australia “a nation of victims” and discouraged the United States from following Australia’s example on gun control.
The Liberal Democrat made the comments in an interview with the National Rifle Association of America (NRA) which was screened on YouTube.
His interview appears in a clip attacking presidential hopeful and former secretary of state Hillary Clinton over her pro-gun control stance and comes as the race to the White House heats up.
Senator Leyonhjelm told the NRA that Australia should not be a model for gun control, stating that John Howard’s 1996 gun legislation – pushed through in the wake of the Port Arthur massacre – had made “no difference”.
“We are a nation of victims,” he said.
“You cannot own a gun for self defence … the criminals still have guns. There’s a very vigorous black market for guns, so it’s not made the slightest bit of difference.
“If you want a gun, you can get one.”
Senator Leyonhjelm has pushed for the rights of gun owners in Australia since his election in 2013 and recently negotiated a 12-month sunset clause on a ban on importing the Adler lever-action shotgun.
Mr Howard, whose 1996 ban on automatic and semi-automatic weapons prompted Senator Leyonhjelm’s departure from the Liberal Party, has said he does not believe Australians want to see looser restrictions.
“If the Government ends up letting this [shotgun] in, and not treating it as I think it should be on the evidence available to me at the moment – treated as akin to an automatic or semi-automatic – then I would be very critical of that,” Mr Howard said at a Gun Control Australia function in Sydney earlier this year.
“That would be a huge mistake. I don’t think a great majority of Australians want to see a weakening of gun laws.”
The NRA betrayed you as they have us…
“No worries,” there will be a war here before that happens…
***“You cannot own a gun for self defence … the criminals still have guns. There’s a very vigorous black market for guns, so it’s not made the slightest bit of difference.
“If you want a gun, you can get one.”***
Then there is no excuse for any Australian to NOT be a criminal in this respect.
I’m not sure if they managed to pass the laws they wanted here in South Australia. What they wanted was a mandatory five year(no parole) gaol term for possession of a pistol without a license.
Major sin Compliance period. Any dumb ass knows the criminals will always have the guns.