Gun control has turned Australia into a nation of defenceless victims, says senator | Australia news | The GuardianGun control has turned Australia into a nation of defenceless victims, says senator | Australia news | The Guardian










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Sydney siege



Gun control has turned Australia into a nation of defenceless victims, says senator









 Liberal Democratic senator David Leyonhjelm says Sydney siege would have been less likely if public had weapons to fight back

















Flower tributes are placed at Martin Place. Photo: Mike Bowers for the Guardian



Australian Associated Press


Wednesday 17 December 2014 17.18 EST







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Australia has been turned into a “nation of victims” by gun control laws, Liberal Democratic senator David Leyonhjelm believes.
He says this week’s Sydney cafe siege would have been less likely to happen if the gunman thought his hostages might be carrying concealed weapons.
“That nutcase who held them all hostage wouldn’t have known that they were armed and bad guys don’t like to be shot back at,” Senator Leyonhjelm told ABC radio on Thursday.
Instead, he says, “we are all disarmed victims” and that’s unacceptable.
Cafe hostages Tori Johnson and Katrina Dawson were reportedly shot by Man Haron Monis moments before police stormed the shop and killed the gunman in a hail of gunfire.
“It would have been illegal for them to have a knife, a stick, a pepper spray, a personal Taser, mace, anything like that for self-defence,” Senator Leyonhjelm said.
“To turn an entire population into a nation of victims is just unforgivable.”
He has long called for easing Australia’s gun control laws, quitting the Liberal Party in disgust at John Howard’s strengthening of controls after the Port Arthur massacre and previously being a member of the Shooters Party.
The Australian Greens take the opposite stance, saying the review of the siege should focus on how Monis got hold of a gun.
“If the inquiry focuses on that it has the potential to make the country safer and we might see some positive reform arise out of this tragedy,” acting leader Adam Bandt told ABC radio.
It beggared belief that making Australia’s gun law more like those of the United States could make the country safer, he said.
Attorney-General George Brandis said it appeared the type of gun Monis used was banned under the 1996 laws, although he cautioned the need to wait for the full investigation to be sure.
“If the weapon he had indeed was a banned weapon, then there’s only one way he could have got that weapon and that is illegally,” he told ABC radio.
“The question is not if the laws are tough enough, but the way in which the laws are enforced.”
Senator Brandis said it was too early to begin drawing conclusions, saying Prime Minister Tony Abbott had acted swiftly to initiate a federal and NSW state review into the events leading up to Monis beginning the siege, including how a man with a known history of violence got hold of a gun.
Treasurer Joe Hockey said the fact that Monis appeared to have slipped under the radar was frustrating.
“How we missed him is a source of immense frustration to us, particularly given that we have given more resources to our security agencies,” Mr Hockey told Seven Network.
The results of the review will be ready by the end of January.



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Sydney siege




Crime - Australia




Sydney




Gun crime




David Leyonhjelm



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more on this story














Sydney siege: Australian PM Tony Abbott warns of rise in 'terrorist chatter' - video

Australian prime minister Tony Abbott warns of a rise in 'terrorist chatter' in the aftermath of the cafe siege in Sydney



Published: 23 Dec 2014




Sydney siege: Australian PM Tony Abbott warns of rise in 'terrorist chatter' - video












Sydney siege victims Tori Johnson and Katrina Dawson mourned at memorial services

Survivors of Martin Place Lindt cafe siege join victims’ families and NSW premier, governor and police commissioner at memorial services



Published: 22 Dec 2014




Sydney siege victims Tori Johnson and Katrina Dawson mourned at memorial services












Sydney siege floral tributes to be removed before wet weather hits city

Flowers will be mulched and used in a memorial to be established in consultation with the families of the victims of the Lindt cafe attack in Martin Place



Published: 22 Dec 2014




Sydney siege floral tributes to be removed before wet weather hits city












Sydney siege: videos show gunman's wife a risk to public, say prosecutors

Amirah Droudis faces a bid to revoke her bail pending her trial over the killing of Man Haron Monis’s former wife



Published: 21 Dec 2014




Sydney siege: videos show gunman's wife a risk to public, say prosecutors














Partner of Sydney siege gunman arrives at court - video




Published: 22 Dec 2014




Partner of Sydney siege gunman arrives at court - video








Siege survivor Julie Taylor tells of heartbreak over loss of Katrina Dawson




Published: 18 Dec 2014




Siege survivor Julie Taylor tells of heartbreak over loss of Katrina Dawson








Man Haron Monis lawyers and judges receive death threats and other abuse




Published: 18 Dec 2014




Man Haron Monis lawyers and judges receive death threats and other abuse








On guns, David Leyonhjelm is neither a champion nor a villain. He's a libertarian

Eleanor Robertson




Published: 18 Dec 2014







On guns, David Leyonhjelm is neither a champion nor a villain. He's a libertarian
















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