Senator David Leyonhjelm is the guest for episode 5 of the Liberty Itch podcast. David has been at the forefront of Australia's gun control debate. He has written 2 books on the topic with a third on the way. He is well known for his libertarian stance and he's consistently challenged Australia's strict firearm laws, arguing they infringe on citizens' rights to self-defense and recreation, which they do.
Australia has among the toughest gun control laws in the World, along with North Korea, Eritrea and Venezuela. It is not a policy to be proud of. As David explains, aggressive gun control laws are a feature of authoritarian dictatorships. They do not precede a reduction in crime; probably because criminals do not care about laws, by definition. But harsh gun control laws have preceded some of the most horrifying examples of government brutality of the past 100 years.
In this episode, David shares his perspectives on gun control, personal liberty, and the reality of how gun laws affect public safety versus individual rights.
Great interview and thought provoking.
Gun control is a mechanism of a totalitarian government that doesn't trust it's people.
Whatever I used to think, I don't believe the government should be involved in this.
Thinking "we're looking after everyone" is a problem. All you're doing is punishing those who follow the law. Those who aren't going to aren't going to follow these laws.
Australians are all too willing to embrace totalitarianism, as demonstrated by the willingness to lock up and deny work to their neighbours during COVID-19. Australian governments are all too happy to grab as much power as possible - the recently defeated attack on free speech, has been supplanted by the new hate speech laws, that achieve much the same thing. The lack of privately owned guns makes the Australian public a soft target for a totalitarian government.
Sadly, that really is the truth of the matter.
Knee jerk reactions by ignorant people with power will result in overreach. A government having taken rights will not give it back without a fight. It is frustrating that reason, logic and facts can not sway an ideologue.
I 100% agree, Matt.
Sadly Australians have largely succumbed to the absolute fiction that the draconian firearms regulations here actually protect them, when the facts actually do not support this.