My friends, I know you are used to me writing positive things, and certainly that is my preference. I’m not an activist, nor am I a political animal, but I do believe in speaking out about what I believe. There is something that has occurred and I believe it is concerning. Apparently this not so small event has gone undetected by most of us, until now when it appears to be too late. But I want you to know.
Day before yesterday, I heard a small news report to the effect that there was a new gun about to be imported into Australia, based on a deal our Prime Minister, Tony Abbott had done with MP David Leyonhjelm, of the Shooters Party, in exchange for his vote on tougher border security measures. In case you have forgotten, or didn’t know, this MP is the same man who said this, after the Martin Place siege
“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 Leyonhjelm told the ABC’s AM program.
“Statistically speaking” in those jurisdictions, “one or two of the victims” would have had a concealed gun, he said.
“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,” Senator Leyonhjelm said.
He said the Lindt cafe hostages were helpless because they were not allowed to carry a lethal or non-lethal weapon.
This ludicrous statement seems even more so, in light of the fatal shooting on air, of TV reporter and the cameraman in the United States this week.
I will leave you to read for yourself, the first two articles I have been able to source on the recent matter, the third article is when the MP stated the above after the Martin Place incident:
http://www.vice.com/en_au/read/how-tony-abbott-swapped-rapid-fire-shotguns-for-votes
I think, there is no reason, barring out and out invasion of foreign armies, that is good enough to allow more guns into Australia–of any kind. I am proud of the stance Australia has taken with regard to guns since the Port Arthur massacre, and I am seriously disappointed at this incremental erosion of that position.
Posting this is my small way of protesting. I have also written my federal member to voice my concerns.
ardysez 
That really is a completely ludicrous statement!! Look at all the gun related tragedies that keep happening over and over in the states. Obama recently said that his greatest sorrow is that he hasn’t been able to curb the gun crime and make changes in legislation during his presidency.
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Thank you Sarah. Yes, I see all these tragedies in the US, due to guns and I wonder when anyone will be able to save them from themselves.
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I think it’s too endemic within the culture and society. With such a huge and diverse population I don’t see their national obsession with “the right to bear arms” ever changing! One can only hope that it is an example to other nations not to follow in their footsteps.
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I am a political person and do often feel the need to speak out and protest, although with this current government, I find myself exhausted at the prospect, So many things are wrong. This is just another example of the Abbott government being totally out of touch with how Australians think on issues, let alone the nastiness of back room deals made against our national interest. Yes, it is ludicrous and criminal. Thanks for alerting your readers to this..
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Thank you Francesca. I agree, there are so many ways this government seems to be out of touch with what the Australian people want to happen. If the statistics in that article are accurate (I’m always a bit suspect of statistics) over 80% of the population thinks gun control is right or should be tighter, certainly NOT loosened.
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I don’t believe those stats. the Murdoch press probably made them up, like they make everything else up and distort the truth.
We are a country blessed with very few gun shooting incidents.Both the Lindt Cafe gunmen and the Martin Bryant were deeply troubled mad men.If guns were more freely available, other troubled fold may well resort to using them, just like in the USA.
I don’t understand that clause ‘the right to bear arms’ in the American constitution. No one should have the right to own and shoot a gun.
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The ‘right to bear arms’ was created in a time when America was an infant nation and fighting was what created it. It is outmoded and misleading in its intent. It has no place in modern society. My point of the title of this post was actually ironic. We are not helpless, we have so many options other than a violent response or intention. Thank you for your input Francesca.
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I enjoyed the irony of the title and weep that the majority of Americans cannot understand the outmoded nature of the second amendment. It is sad.
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Just read about this horrific business and make note of the link here. Thanks Ardys for keeping me up to date in the back blocks of Thailand.
http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/aug/28/after-20-years-australias-gun-control-debate-is-igniting-once-again
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Thanks for posting that link Francesca, I just finished reading via Twitter, myself. Maybe there is hope for some robust discussion over this issue rather than sly back room betrayal. I’m so disgusted over this.
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Given that statistics show Australian citizens are in favour of gun control, it amazes me that a vote can be bought by allowing a softening of those controls without the express permission of the people. I would have thought such an important decision as allowing a rapid fire weapon to be imported under such a weak licence should have been put to the people in a referendum.
If Tony Abbot feels so strongly about the bill on tougher security measures he could have also put that to the people by way of referendum and allowed Australians to say what measures they feel are strong enough in National Security.
All too often these days it seems politicians forget whom they serve and make decisions that affect us without asking their constituents how they feel about it.
The argument that occasions like the murders in the cafe would not have happened in America as some people would be carrying weapons holds no water with me as security guards in banks carry weapons but banks in the US are still robbed. And how long before there is a school massacre in Australia using rapid fire weapons where there would be no-one carrying a concealed weapon except the gunman. If more guns made life safer then America would not be the crime capital of the world.
I hope Australia isn’t going down the same street.
xxx Massive Hugs xxx
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Thank you for contributing to this discussion David. I, too, am horrified that such an important issue could be unilaterally acted upon without our knowledge. All you say is very sensible, I just wonder where the politicians heads are. In a dark place, I think.
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I can understand why you would be upset, Ardys… I would dread the same thing happening here… politicians are strange animals…
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It is almost impossible to guess what they will do from one day to the next, let alone their motivation. Just when you think you can trust one they show you how wrong you are…not that I have ever trusted our current PM, unfortunately… thanks Valerie.
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No I agree, I can’t believe some of his words and decisions… very very strange
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The one consolation is that comparatively few Americans leave their shores…
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Yes, I suppose that is something. Thanks for reading Roger.
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I despair of the decisions our current government is making, it is totally out of touch with the thinking of Australians. Fortunately the border control exercise in Melbourne was cancelled today. Power to the people! The need for tight gun laws is reinforced every time there is a shooting tragedy in the US. We need to all speak out and condemn Abbott’s ridiculously dangerous behaviour.
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Thank you Sandra. It is just such a betrayal of our trust that this deal has been done this way and we have had no say in it. I applaud the protestors in Melbourne who nipped the stupidity in the bud!
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My husband is from Texas and is anti-gun – not your average Texan. He has recently become a British citizen. We listened to an item on BBC radio the oher day whihc seemd to say that While U.S. has 5% of the world’s population, it saw 31% of public mass shootings http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonkblog/wp/2015/08/26/were-now-averaging-more-than-one-mass-shooting-per-day-in-2015/
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Aargh – sorry! It saved it while I was writing. What I was trying to say was that in the US there have this year been more mass killings (4 or more people shot, not necessarily killed) according to a source quoted in the Washington Post (link above in the mess) and then there is this more general piece in CNN which cites the work showing the percentage of world poluation that is US and the perecentage of public mass shootings over a much longer period http://edition.cnn.com/2015/08/27/health/u-s-most-mass-shootings/index.html To cite the USA as a good reason to import more guns wouod be laughable if it weren’t so tragic. Sorry, again for messing up your post …
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You didn’t mess up the post at all. Thank you so much for your input. I agree, the USA is not a shining example of how to handle gun control. We can do better if we get the right minds behind it.
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Ludicrous, indeed. I applaud your stance and hope that Australia doesn’t turn into another gun-crazy nation like mine. As for that Senator’s idiotic statement that the Lindt incident wouldn’t have happened in the U.S. because someone would have been carrying a concealed gun…that’s just stupid. And a gun wouldn’t have stopped the lunatic who shot those reporters this week because neither of them would have had the time to pull out a weapon…and there usually isn’t. If he looked up the statistics he might know this for a fact. Guns….ugh.
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As an American, I feel I must weigh in on this…and say emphatically that I agree with you. To use the U.S. as an example of why Australia should allow people to “carry” is insane. Look at how many people are killed by guns here. It’s heartbreaking and horrific. It will take a miracle to get these laws changed here, but I hold out hope. The Supreme Court ruled that homosexuals could marry here and no one ever believed that would happen…so, who knows? This is a polarizing topic here and difficult to discuss because people hold such intense beliefs about their right to bear arms…you’d think by now that all of the gun violence here would trump that antiquated view…but it never seems to. That senator is an idiot to think the Lindt incident wouldn’t have happened here in America. Did he not here about the people who were murdered in that Colorado theatre? Or the innocent people in Charleston murdered by that stupid “black-hating” fool? Or the lunatic who murdered those reporters here this week? Or all the little children gunned down at Sandy Hook elementary school?
Ugh…that Senator’s comments are insane. He should check his statistics, too, because he’s completely wrong.
I applaud your stance and agree with your position on this matter. I also pray that your country does NOT follow our example…
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And please forgive my incorrect use of the word, “here”, when it should be “hear” in one of my sentences above. 😉
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Thank you for weighing into this hefty topic. I’m originally from the USA and I know there is considerable reluctance there to seriously tackle the gun control issue. It makes me so sad. All you said is exactly true. More guns do not make a safer society. I know people on both sides of this argument and nothing anyone has said to me has ever convinced me that more guns are better. If we are ever to evolve as a society we must find better ways than violence to solve our issues. Thank you very much Robin.
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I hear you Ardys. We could hardly do worse than to copy the way the US does their gun laws. I am proud of the stance our country has taken too.
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I’ve just written another letter to another politician. Not expecting a reply but at least I know I’ve tried.
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What else can you do?
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This is awesome!! Letters to politicians do get read.. (by someone)
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At first I was not going to comment. Mostly because I do not like standing alone. I do not carry a concealed weapon, but I know many people who do. While I do not feel the need to carry a gun, and I do not fear death, I do respect those who do as they feel they must. To me, it is not about the gun. If it wasn’t a gun it would be a bomb, or a knife or some other weapon for those who tend to misuse or harm another (others). It is about responsibility.
No one has mentioned here that the US has a tremendous mental health issue. Since Obama’s presidency, many states have lost federal funding for mental health and substance abuse due to budget cuts. In Oklahoma, state budget cuts combined with reduction in county and various community, public and private mental health services, has contributed to the closure of many facilities here.
Looking further into the problem, we have record unemployed, record numbers of homeless people.There are many desperate people feeling no hope. There are a lot of angry people. There are a lot of people in fear. Our jails and prisons are filled to the brim. This does not even address those people, children especially, who grow up living troubled lives, who have never had the opportunity to have mental health treatment.
To me, and this is my simplistic way of looking at it – it is about taking care of the root problem. I agree that guns are not the answer, and I certainly do not feel a rapid-fire weapon is necessary under any circumstance. Certainly, a vote of the people should have prevailed.
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I think you are absolutely correct, Lori, that our real problems are much deeper in the mental and social welfare of people. Fear, anger and disenfranchisement, and mental illness are what cause people to behave in dangerous ways. Having more guns only adds fuel to the fire. Also, I strongly object to the way in which the government went about doing this back-room deal. It is a betrayal, in my eyes. I think the rapid fire gun even if it is only 8 bullets’ worth is just not necessary. It is a very hard thing to say something you feel might not be taken on board by others and I thank you for trusting us enough to hear your thoughts.
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It took much courage to post about this “back-room deal” and voice your thoughts. I am always intrigued that many countries face similar problems, and it is interesting to see how people work together (or not) to solve the issues. Your blog is a safe place for many of us to be ourselves – and I believe for the most part, people are respectful and open to listening to what other’s have to offer.
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I’m so glad people feel they can voice their thoughts here in a respectful way, and will be treated the same in return. There is no gain when people are disrespectful of each other. It did take a lot of nerve for me to push that ‘publish’ button on this one. It is just not my normal arena. But in the end, my need to express my thoughts overcame the fear, if not the sweaty palms!! Thanks again Lori. xx
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One of the wonderful things about Australia is that everyone has a voice. One of the downsides of that is that the voices are not always informed or impartial. Senator Leyonhjelm’s wiki page https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Leyonhjelm explains a lot. It doesn’t appear that he is the voice of reason but of his own interests. I’m pleased you spoke out and highlighted the issue. Maintaining the integrity of Australia’s gun laws [if not the seemingly impossible task of politicians’ integrity] is important to me too.
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Again, your words seem appropriate of the situation with your summary of Leyonhjelm’s interests. I have been disappointed this has hardly seen the light of day in the media, but watching the news on the weekend, there are so many issues at the moment, it feels a bit like this issue has been drowned out in a flood of other things. So much of the diversionary news is the politicians sniping at each other and bickering. Such a waste of time and resources. But I do love that we live in a country where we can speak our mind, at least that seems intact, even if other things are incrementally eroding.
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An incredibly important and timely post, Ardys, although sadly, I think the gun issue is no longer one that periodically bubbles to the surface when the odd tragedy occurs but is not being pushed to the back of the line news reporting and newspaper pages because it’s becoming such an everyday situation.
The on air shooting in Virginia last week happened just a couple of hours south of me, and as I have a handful of friends in the region’s tv and radio business, I know the deaths were felt deeply, painfully and personally.
The most wretched realization is that money continues to find itself with the uppermost foothold in this pyramid of considerations. It’s an old trope, but one that refuses to be trumped by personal safety and the consideration of valuing life above all else.
I’m glad to see you’ve made a few vocal and verbal statements on the issue. I hope you’ll see some positive movement on your side of the earth. I’m not terribly hopeful for mine …
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It makes me sad, too, Shelley, every time we see in the news, a story of another shooting in the US. Don and I were talking last night about how money and profit and the perceived power derived from them drives our culture and our governments. It has really bothered me this passed week, even more so than usual. One wonders if there is any way out of the mire in which we find ourselves flailing away. Thanks so much for your comment.
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I’m with you 100%. I heard about this about a month ago and if I rolled my eyes anymore they would have fallen out of my head and rolled along the floor.
I, like you am very proud of our stance regarding guns in our country. There is NO credible reason this introduction is necessary.
Sadly the USA has done alot of learning for us, and we can see what happens when lobbyists start messing with gun policies.
There’s no need for us to travel down the same road as them – which lets face it, is a disaster.
The reasoning for needing anything more than what is required on a farm or when out (legally) hunting (animals) is a farce.
I saw a video on you tube – ‘Jim Jefferies US Gun Control.’ I’m not going to copy and paste the link, because honestly I was cringing from the language. But the message minus the bad words was valid. Every point he stated was credible. (Search and watch at your own risk)
‘There is one argument and one argument alone for having guns’ and that is ‘I like my Guns’
I also think the trade off was ridiculous, things like that undermine the integrity of politicians in my opinion. Policy should be passed on it’s own merit OR negotiations should be relevant to the policy. This would be a stretch.
Great post, Ardys.
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Love the image of you extensively rolling your eyes, lol. Thanks Lou. I heard an alarming statistic the other night that said there are now as many guns in Australia as there were when Port Arthur happened. As I’ve said, I’m suspicious of statistics like this, and I hope that is wrong, but I fear it may not be. The trouble with having guns around (aside from the obvious) is that humans are so unpredictable and undisciplined. So a gun that isn’t locked up, or a person who isn’t properly trained to use one, or someone who is mentally unstable can get their hands on one and do so much damage in such a short period of time. I don’t understand why this simple concept seems to evade the mentality of so many people. I tweeted a recent comment by John Howard http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-09-08/howard-rejects-relaxing-gun-laws/6759036 who is not at all happy at this turn of events. It sounded like perhaps the deal hasn’t been signed, sealed and delivered quite yet, but I’ve had NO response from the politicians I’ve written to. I expect their secretaries have just hit the delete button. 😦
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Okay – here it is; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzHMFZalsMM *races off*.. I couldn’t find one with the swear words bleeped out. Sorry!
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I love it when humour makes such intelligent points. The language left a bit to be desired, but I’ve heard worse, and in a comedy sketch you can handle it a bit better. Thanks Lou.
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