Yep, I copped a little flak or rather a bit of questioning from Shooter friends on why I'm fine with the SFFPs recent Lever Action Disallowance Motion failing. Why it is I supported the NationalsWA on this and didn't go in hard for Rick Mazza MLC. Well I'm not an MP so my position doesn't matter at all, its just an opinion.
From now on I'm just going to direct shooters to this page :-)
Its actually not such a big thing, but I'll explain here as I explained it to several shooter friends.
I thought the Disallowance Motion should have been opposed & lost and it was. To which my friends in a group replied that it was total BS. Fair enough, but why?
And here's how it went condensed. Them in Black Bold and me in Red.
(By the way when they say Adler, they mean "Lever Action 12 gauge shotgun" of which there's quite a few brands now)
Its BS because some are claiming its a Semi Automatic and its not is it?
No its not, you're correct. Its a 12 Gauge Lever Action Repeater. What else?
Well anti gun nuts are saying its got a high capacity magazine and it isn't
No its not high capacity, most A class can run up to 25 rounds, most other rifles 10 rounds, all pistols have 5 to 10 rounds. No if there's no low capacity, normal capacity there can't be any High Capacity when its not even the highest legal capacity. What else?
Well anti gun nuts call it high powered, but its 12 gauge so the lever action doesn't make any changes to its "power". A 12 gauge is a 12 gauge is a 12 gauge.
100% correct, no argument from me. What else, what's next?
They also say its rapid fire, compared to what? What's slow fire, middle fire? My double barrel can fire 10 shots quicker than the Adler.
Yep, I watched the video on Youtube where 2 guys tested that and it wasn't faked. 2 shots the double barrel is faster, 5 shots the Adlers faster and 10 shots mostly its the Double Barrel. Be the double barrel every time if it had shell ejection like a clay target shotgun. What else?
Why do we need anything else, isn't that enough?
Well while you're on a roll you can add that the WA Police have no records of any crime ever being committed with a Lever Action Shotgun, nor have the Police over east so its hard to say it poses an elevated risk to members of society. You can add its not very easy to conceal, you can't turn it to a pistol grip nor sawn off barrel without making it less effective than a double barrel.
Well then why do you support its reclassification with all these facts?
Well simple. A 12 Gauge 5 shot pump action and a 5 shot 12 Gauge Semi Auto have different actions but same capacities, different firing rates and both the same powerfulness. There's one thing they have in common with the 12 Gauge Lever Action. They're all 5 Shot 12 Gauge Repeaters. All of them. Its hard to explain why they should be in different categories.
Yeah they should all be in Cat A.
Maybe, maybe not. Thing is no one has put legislation forward to put all 5 shot 12 Gauge Repeaters into Cat A. Nor tried to pass a Bill taking all 12 Gauge Repeaters over 5 shots out of Cat D into Cat A where the Adler of any capacity is...for now that is.
Only me making assumptions, but for the sake of legislative consistency the Nats had little choice but to support the Bill and oppose the Disallowance Motion. I'm pro Shooter and I would have done the same.
I still think its BS
May well be, but if you want something changed you have to push for the change and come up with supporting evidence and support. There's some folk who want all guns including kid's toy guns banned. Its the way of the world these days.
Now I mentioned to these folk that I haven't actually spoken to any MPs on this. I had though looked closely at the Bill and the Disallowance motion. The reason it was lost was it would have prevented one particular type of 12 Gauge 5 Shot Repeater going into the same Cat C as all the other similar capacity 12 Gauge 5 Shot repeaters. Its consistency, like it or not, that's where they belong even if its only for now. Acts of Parliament are living documents, they can be amended or repealed. No one has been able to get a Bill passed putting Cat C and Cat D Shotguns into Cat A so it'd be pretty inconsistent to see a Disallowance Motion passed allowing one & not the others. Could happen technically but pretty unlikely.
The resulting backlash were that to happen would be swift, enormous and actually benefit no one at all. Least of all Law Abiding Firearms Owners.
SUMMARY - As it is, my assumption is the NatsWA opposed the Disallowance Motion for one reason. Supporting the Disallowance Motion would allow the inconsistency of one 12 Gauge 5 Shot Repeater into Cat A leaving the others in Cat C.
My guess is it was nothing to do with 100% correct but 100% irrelevant points like Rapid Fire, High Capacity, High Powered, Semi Automatic or criminal use.
Its simply the Semi Auto 5 Shot 12 Gauge, the Pump Action 5 Gauge & the Lever Action 5 Shot 12 Gauge are...
ALL 5 SHOT 12 GAUGE REPEATERS.
If there were a 12 Gauge Shotgun with 5 barrels & triggers, it would have to go to the Higher Category too.
That's it. Now if you want that changed, the legislation once its passed will have to be repealed. To be honest, having used 7 & even 12 shot semi auto shotguns in the USA...well I think they were fun in the paddock with clay targets but the weight is going to get massive once you go scrub hunting with more than 5 rounds. I firmly believe the Adler is the poster boy for dissent. There's where most of its popularity rests. I just think some of the dissent is misplaced and the pathway for change we see is not the proper path.
So far, out of 15 cranky people, 11 eventually agreed (some reluctantly), 3 said they genuinely weren't sure any more and one thinks I'm a useless anti gun apologist for the Australian Greens Party.
Law of averages that's not bad going.
Stack the facts, test them hard with others, present them to your local MP and work out what to do if it doesn't go your way. Something's won't change. That's life.
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