Pity poor Australian gun owners. They’ve been more or less stripped of their natural gun rights. Well, more. As is the way of such things, the Australian government can’t get enough of that sweet, sweet gun control – violent firearms-related crime be damned! Or praised, as it gives them an excuse to crack down further. Like the “temporary” ban on a lever action shotgun. Australian Senator David Leyonhjelm’s not down with that. In his crusade to restore the gun to the acceptable list, the man Down Under dared – dared, I tell you! – to call antis “hoplophobes.” Dripping with sarcasm. news.com.au is having none of it. Like this . . .
WANT to stop the spread of guns? Well sorry, but according to Senator David Leyonhjelm you might have a mental illness.
The firearm-toting Liberal Democrat senator calls it “hoplophobia”, a term invented about 50 years ago in the US to describe campaigners for gun control.
It literally means a fear of weapons and while it doesn’t rate a mention in the genuine clinical texts it is often loaded into the American gun debate.
And now here, where Senator Leyonhjelm says it is a “psychological condition”.
“These authoritarian types who don’t like guns … we call them hoplophobes,” he told ABC radio today.
“It’s a psychological condition. They don’t attack guns all at once. Like slicing pieces off a salami they go after them one by one.”
The slice he is fighting is a lever-action shotgun. Its importation has been banned, along with other shotguns with magazines holding more than five rounds.
And the problem for advocates of tighter gun control is Senator Leyonhjelm has the leverage in the Upper House to save the lever-action firearm.
Leverage? He has leverage? Yes! And he’s not afraid to use it!
He said today he already had a successful bartering session with former Immigration Minister Scott Morrison which led to the government imposing temporary protection visas in exchange for taking in more Syrian refugees last year.
The lone Liberal Democrat would like to see a greater intake now, and is suggesting their settlement be funded by further cuts to foreign aid.
Senator Leyonhjelm will keep negotiating and one of the bargaining points could be firearms.
He wants the Senate to overturn the shotgun sanction arguing, “I’ve learned over the years there is nothing as permanent as a temporary ban.
“It’s not powerful. It’s no different to other shotguns brought into Australia. They’ve been available for 130 years. There’s nothing special about this.
“This is an attempt to vilify Australia’s 800,000 licensed firearm owners by categorising their guns as dangerous and them as criminals in waiting. It’s unacceptable.”
Unacceptable, but a fact of life. Don’t let this be us! Meanwhile, kudos to Senator David Leyonhjelm for telling the truth about guns and fighting the good fight against insurmountable odds. He is TTAG’s Gun Hero of the Day.
Sadly, AUS is the example of why total bans are the logical result of encroaching gun control. “Compromise” is just us giving up more and more and them taking more and more. We lose while they gain.
Don’t give an inch. Compromise always, always means we move closer to their side. I for one am having none of it.
To paraphrase the pro abortion activists, ‘if you don’t like guns, don’t own one’.
There is no “compromise.”
Gun owners give stuff up and get nothing in return.
Never give an inch.
A few Australians have already taken possession of the new shotgun, some with magazines cut down to 5rds. Looks like a good toy, but if I ever need an “Australia Approved” firearm for “Non Approved Use” I’ll take my 5 shot hunting rifle. Plenty of guys in Afghanistan getting pinned by far worse weapons…
Fortunately, we are lucky not to have a government which is obsessed with drones and helicopter gunships, those things being gun control by another name. So a disappearing act may actually be feasible…
I mean no disrespect, what government are you referring to that is not obsessed with drones and helicopter guns ships? I am thinking you are not talking about the US government.
You’re right, I’m talking about Australia. While we have regressive gun laws, enforcement, especially the deployment of military equipment against civilians, is quite a long way beyond the horizon.
“I’ve learned over the years there is nothing as permanent as a temporary ban.”
This guy understands government, that’s for damn sure.
Yep look no further than the Chinese ban, that was “temporary” too until George W. Bush made it permanent back in 2003.
The current “temporary” Russian sanctions, if they are ever lifted, will guess what? Still ban KC AK’s from coming in and might expand to other bans too for negotiation purposes.
A coworker made a comment about campus carry a few days ago, so naturally I engaged because he was spouting a lot of the “blood running in the streets” lines that the media has been peddling since the bill was first authored… Almost immediately as the first words left my mouth another coworker (recently moved here from Australia) very defiantly exclaimed “oh shut the f*^k up already…” and provided no further explanation for his position. when I asked him to elaborate on his oh so very eloquent and well thought out dissent, he just said “we aren’t going to talk about this right now!” Sounds like he would make a good politician if he ever moves back home.
What line of work? Maybe when they come back you can organise a trade.
” media has been peddling since the bill was first authored”
Which bill? I first heard that crap from the media and the antis (word for word) in 1987 concerning FL’s CC law. Almost 30 f-ing years ago.
Good on ya, mate.
The very definition of shoveling sh1t against the tide.
the singing drummer from “the band.”
I love how they whine about our side “inventing words” and psychological conditions to malign our opponents. I would point out that almost their entire PC language of failure was assembled by halfwits starting much earlier than 40 years ago, but the authors micro-aggressive tone has triggered me back into my safe space.
In a nutshell when we see these anti-firearm actions by Gov’t it boils down to one thing, they don’t trust their citizens.
Or they want to do something nasty to them and don’t want them shooting back.
“The firearm-toting Liberal Democrat senator calls it “hoplophobia””
This article was 100% worth it just to see those particular words strung together… something, like a planetary alignment, that is likely to happen only once in a lifetime.
For an American audience, the party name can cause confusion… but in Australia the “Liberal Democratic Party” is a libertarian party that stands for “liberal democracy” in the original sense of the words, meaning small government and individual liberty.
Thank goodness we firearms owner have a few politicians willing too speak out for us, against the nonsense the antis are always spouting.. Just wish more would see common sense and stop play for the votes of the emotional and deluded antis.