Andrew Longthal is with us if you're just joining us on the live stream.

There's lots going on in Australia, and I think this is a useful time to touch base about it,

because in a global context where so much is happening abroad,

and we could be talking about Iran or, you know, Trump or whatever,

Australians are focused on things that are also relevant to everybody

else, but just not pressing right now. Like free speech, hate speech, jihadism, terrorism,

not cancellation, wokeness, literary festivals where people get, you know, uninvited, gun law reform, basically in the wake of

the Bondi terrorist attack, there's a lot of hubbub in Australia about should we, at a state or

federal level, introduce more restrictions on guns? There seems to be a broad consensus that we

should, except for on the conservative side of

politics, the very conservative side of politics, I should say, because the mainstream

conservative party is broadly in support of reforming gun laws to make them more strict.

Then there's a parallel conversation about hate speech and free speech and what the

contours of that should be.

So the state government, correct me if I'm wrong in briefing any of this,

wants to introduce hate speech legislation that would outlaw intimidating slogans

and vilification of racial and ethnic groups.

Some people who are more pro-hate speech laws and more anti-free speech want to expand that

to include groups like LGBTIQIA plus people.

The Muslim Council Australia wants to make sure that religion is included as a category

so that it's hate speech.

Why is they a blasphemy law?

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