Joe Hockey 'dumbfounded' by US gun culture

Australia's ambassador to the United States says he is "dumbfounded" by America's gun culture.

Joe Hockey, a member of the Howard government when Australian gun laws changed in 1996, is hoping for a concerted push for US firearm reforms after last week's school shooting massacre in Florida.

"There's a certain numbness now - a horrible numbness - that is associated with mass killings in the United States," Mr Hockey told the ABC's 7.30 program from Washington on Wednesday night.

"I find that pretty confronting that people say prayers, lower the flag, and then tend to move on."

Mr Hockey said it shouldn't take the mass murder of children for a country to change its attitude towards deadly weapons.

"But, you know, it's such a part of the culture here," he said.

"I've been dumbfounded how much it is, how ingrained gun ownership is in the culture of everyday Americans."