“What happened in that cafe would be most unlikely to have occurred in Florida, Texas, or Vermont, or Alaska in America, or perhaps even Switzerland as well,” Senator Leyonhjelm told ABC Radio — adding at least “one or two” there would have had a concealed gun.

If that’s the likely case, then I’m to assume that dozens of people would have been carrying arms at Port Arthur on April 28, 1996. Somebody could have taken out Martin Bryant.

And guns might have been blazing at Julian Knight in Hoddle Street, Melbourne, August 9, 1987.

But despite our gun laws at the time, Australians simply weren’t in the habit of entering restaurants, using public transport, visiting the zoo or going to the cricket armed to the teeth.

Senator Leyonhjelm would like to see us get into the habit. He wants us to carry a weapon so we can, in a nutshell, kill people should the need arise. Just how many nutcases does he want to see armed?

It’s ludicrous for him to postulate that the outcome that evolved in Martin Place would have been ‘unlikely’ in America because armed citizens could have easily dealt with the perpetrator. He needs to do a bit of research on the mass shootings in America and note how many of the murderers were taken out by an armed citizen. I think he’ll find that all – or if not all, then close to it – were left to the police to deal with.

What happened in Martin Place was tragic. Very tragic. And despite the deaths of two innocent people I’d rather live in a country where such situations were always left to the police.

I won’t be carrying a gun anywhere, and I hope don’t want you too either.