Suseonline, I said no such thing. I don't have a gun and have not advocated learning to shoot them; indeed I've never even fired one.

However the fact remains that not everyone's like me. Many people do hunt for food, so why should we disallow them? The same goes for shooting targets for sport. And culling animals, which is sometimes needed in Australia for environmental reasons, is usually most effectively done with guns.

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Jay, ITYF that's driven more by drugs than by race. Low crime rates in rural areas is something that happens regardless of ethnicity. And considering the effect the Howard governments gun laws had on violent crime in Australia, your claim that "allowing people to own firearms will have no effect on violent crime in Australia" is obviously wrong.

Dear Hasbeen,

<<People who are afraid of honest men having a gun are really too responsive to emotive symbols,>>

Not necessarily - they could be very rational robbers, burglars, rapists and terrorists.

I speak English bad but that's OK. I do not be rude to anybody here and Im not been a smart alek either. In my old country Elbasan, in Albania guns tanks a large guns enerywhere police and government police everyone has guns many die by guns ? Australia has no many guns but even some is very bad like Albania. Think about it please. I speak no more about guns now.

Hi there MISANTHROPE...

I get your drift of things concerning your total opposition to F/A's being in the hands of anyone other than the authorities ? Post the events at Port Arthur (a fellow went amok with a military styled F/A and murdered over thirty innocent people)the then PM, John HOWARD strengthened federal F/A's import laws, and implored the States, to harden up on their own State F/A legislation, which was consequently achieved.

However MISANTHROPE, to further restrict ordinary people from lawfully possessing and using F/A's, would prove counterproductive in my opinion. Furthermore it may do irreversible harm to what goodwill that may 'still' exist, between government legislators, and the many law-abiding citizens, if any new F/A laws were to be introduced.

And without first, encouraging broad public support, this whole 'lawful possession of guns' question, becomes a much more serious even sinister underground, black-market industry ? Resulting in absolute pandemonium for police and public alike ?

Could you imagine for a moment, a large hoard of guns and munitions being secreted, even buried in the bush someplace (shade's of occupied France during WW.ll), just waiting for the right moment for them to be revealed in some form of anti-government revolt ?

For any piece of legislation to work, governments must be able to generate a fair degree of public support, otherwise it'll be doomed to fail in the fullness of time, with substantial collateral damage, usually ?

MISANTHROPE I hope this may help you understand a little more about this whole question of firearm ownership and use ?

Well it looks like Russia's ahead of us on this issue.

http://rt.com/news/206703-russia-guns-self-defense/

Hello Senator,

"Hope has no foundation, without a base attached to it." So if someone like (you) Senator David Leyonhjelm, want to "hope" that everything will turn out for the best with this policy attitude (on improved human protection in Australia by use of various weapon types) then prove it by "fact". I don't rely on "fiction".

Those, like Senator David Leyonhjelm can very easily make comments like he has - as these people will often have no personal or direct connection to the reality of the issue - that being the "shock" factor. I have.

Personally, I have Epilepsy. After having a large seizure in 2007 and taken to Hospital from suffering severe injuries, I was later advised to start seeing a Neurologist again. I'd had Epilepsy since about eight years of age - but only two seizures since then.

Luckily I had chosen to not take up driving, and I was then advised not to take up driving after the 2007 incident. I went with the "facts" put forward.

Since then I've had 100's of seizures - as my previous medication I was (and found then to be allergic to), was giving me a bone density condition. I have only just found medications that have cut my seizures down by around 90% - and I have to take 7 medications per week re Epilepsy and bone density.

On radio however a few months ago, a woman from a cycling foundation - stated how all cyclists have "rights" to cycle on roads and if there any road incidents - car drivers were 100% at fault. She wasn't realising there are accidents re drivers and bikes on roads and one party can be at fault or it can be both.

People who have not been directly affected by a situation can be very out of touch and don't think of others. I decided not to drive after 2007 (ever) - and I put my "rights" aside for the safety of myself and others.

More "rights" can make a "wrong".