Senator Leyonhjelm tells NRA Australia is 'nation of victims'
Speaking on an NRA video, pro-gun senator David Leyonhjelm says Australia is a 'nation of victims' due to gun control laws.
PT0M42S 620 349Liberal democratic senator David Leyonhjelm has appeared in a video for the National Rifle Association of America in which he describes Australia as a "nation of victims" because of the government's tough stance on gun control.
In an interview, the anti-gun control senator warns the United States not to follow Australia's example after presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton said a gun buyback scheme similar to the one John Howard introduced in 1996 was worth considering.
"I don't think Australia is a model for the United States on gun control at all," Senator Leyonhjelm says in the NRA clip.
"We are a nation of victims", says senator David Leyonhjelm. Photo: Alex Ellinghausen
Australia's strict gun laws have been a talking point during the US presidential race, where advocates of restrictions have pointed to the fact there have been no gun massacres in Australia since 1996.
Senator Leyonhjelm, however, insisted in his interview that the Howard scheme had made "no difference to firearms violence, gun violence overall".
"We are a nation of victims," he said.
"The criminals still have guns, there's no shortage of guns. There's a very vigorous black market for guns, so it's really not made the slightest bit of difference."
"It's a defenceless country these days. I am absolutely in awe of the success of the NRA at holding back the tide and it never gives an inch.
"We love the NRA here in Australia amongst us gun owners and in fact we rely on you guys to also help us hold the line in Australia."
Senator Leyonhjelm has called for more rights for gun owners since his election to the Senate at the 2013 election but his calls for more Australians to carry guns have been rejected by the major parties.
However, he was able to negotiate for the government to lift a ban on the importation of the Adler lever-action shotgun next year, in exchange for voting against Labor amendments to migration legislation.
The remainder of the NRA video consists of interviews NRA News' Ginny Simone conducted back in 1998 with Australian gun owners who were unhappy they had to surrender their guns for the government buyback.
She says Australia had conducted a "political fraud: gun bans that haven't made a difference and gun owners now struggling to stop a growing momentum against them".
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