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Gun Control’ By David Leyonhjelm
Gun Control
By David Leyonhjelm
“Gun Control”, by David Leyonhjelm, a former Australian Member of Parliament was written primarily for his domestic market in order to highlight the level of injustice perpetrated by the government on law abiding Australian citizens who owned licensed sporting firearms. He expands by listing the reasons why Australians require firearms for sporting/hunting purposes and fully describes the types of guns that were previously licensed in that country – and now can no longer be held.
The writer takes us through the minefield of firearms ownership – who can have what - and the reasons they can do so. He also highlights the draconian penalties that gun owners face in the event of using a licensed firearm in self-defence. Lyonhjelm critically exposes a multitude of anomalies in former Prime Minister John Howard’s Gun Laws introduced in 1996 following the Port Arthur massacre.
Highlighting the farcical “Buyback” scheme, he questions the logic of how anything could be bought back by someone who hadn’t sold or owned it in the first place, also referencing Howard’s blatant antipathy towards firearms. Curiously, classes of firearms which had to be surrendered in one particular state were still available on licence in other states. The author availed of this anomaly when he took up residence in another state by buying a firearm of identical calibre to one he was obliged to surrender in his previous state of residence.
All Firearms handed into Police custody under the “buyback” scheme were destroyed – well, not exactly all. A surprising number of valuable guns resurfaced for sale on the open market abroad following their surrender to the Police – despite their owners having been paid a pittance for them by the Government. A subsequent raid on one Police officer’s home led to the discovery of a container full of guns that had been handed in to Police.
The author further relates how a colleague – a barrister – confided in him that he had ordered a new Bentley motor car because the legal profession was aware that “gun bans” generated increased demand for legal representation. This increase specifically refers to law-abiding citizens who through error or ignorance find themselves subject to prosecution for what previously were lawful activities.
“Gun Control” also contains several chapters on the licensing situation in a number of other countries allowing Australians to compare their lot with that of law abiding shooting sports enthusiasts around the world. Gun laws and their origins in New Zealand, Switzerland, USA, UK, Ireland, Malaysia, India and the Czech Republic are included, written by individuals in those countries who are highly experienced and well versed in firearms legislation in their own countries. The Czech Republic is indeed to be envied given that its (law abiding) citizens have a constitutional right to own firearms - a right that no public servant can over-ride.
This book provides a comprehensive and analytical insight clearly showing that gun ownership and violent crime are independent variables, that is, they are unrelated. The author states that a high level of gun control does not reduce violence, and a low level of gun control does not increase it.
We are all only too well aware of many governments’ well-worn mantra that strict gun control reduces crime and violence. “Gun Control” is a fascinating read, indeed a must, for licensed firearms owners and shooting enthusiasts. Perhaps it should be mandatory reading for Politicians, Civil Servants and Police, many of whose views are usually based on fear and ignorance rather than on facts. Available on Amazon and the Book Depository.
