Then Prime Minister John Howard, body armour beneath his suit, addresses a rally opposing gun control laws in the wake of the 1996 Port Arthur massacre. Credit:Andrew Meares So unhappy was he with the Howard government's gun control laws that he left the Liberal Party, dabbled in the Shooters and Fishers Party, and wound up in the Liberal Democratic Party, which he now represents as a senator for NSW. So far Senator Leyonhjelm has presented as a reasonable and rational voice in the new Senate, with considered views. He seems like an adult who has outlined with care his positions on same-sex marriage, higher education reform and changes to legislation covering financial advisers. But on gun laws we see how his overarching ideology, that governments should get out of people's lives, is out of step with community opinion. Australians are, largely, proud of the gun control laws brought in after the Port Arthur massacre.

Of course there are those who argue people should be trusted to own guns, that the population as a whole should not be punished for the acts of a handful of people who abuse that trust. But there is no debate about gun control laws because the community, and the main political parties, are in favour of guns, particularly semi-automatic rifles and pump-action shot guns, being out of reach of the vast majority of people. Not for us the strident views of American libertarians who argue that their right to bear arms trumps the right of the community to be safe. On the issue of gun control, Senator Leyonhjelm shows the dangerous side of his libertarian views. Leyonhjelm told Deborah Snow that Australians could be trusted to own guns.

"The only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun ... and when seconds count, police are minutes away," he said. Even in the aftermath of Monday's events, when community feeling is raw and emotional, Leyonhjelm held fast to his views and argued for a loosening of the restrictions on gun ownership. "Switzerland - more guns per head than USA. Lower gun deaths per head than Australia. Explain that hoplophobes," he tweeted shortly after 9 o'clock this morning. "Hoplophobia = an irrational fear of guns. In which being killed by a lunatic is preferred to having the means to save your own life."

The difference between Senator Leyonhjelm and most people is that most people believe the best way to stop "a bad guy with a gun" is not to give him (or her) a gun in the first place. And we're more than happy to surrender our access to guns to make that happen.