SSAA National is aware that the new import Adler lever-action shotgun is being discussed as part of the ongoing review into the National Firearms Agreement (NFA).
More than 800,000 Australians have been approved by legislators and police, after passing stringent licensing requirements, to possess and use firearms for a range of valid and legitimate purposes.
This includes firearms based on lever-action technology that has existed for over 150 years, and were clearly considered in the legislation that came out of the original NFA discussions.
Any changes to the current legislation, including upward categorisation, that is not based on scientific evidence and facts, and does not bring any further public safety benefit, will not be supported by the SSAA.
It should be remembered that only 3 per cent of firearms stolen from licensed firearm owners are subsequently used to commit a crime, and there has been no recorded incident of a lever-action used to commit a crime in recent times.
The SSAA will continue to actively lobby our legislators and remind the media that the licensed firearm owner should not be punished by overzealous changes, especially if the changes are based on ‘what if’ scenarios.
The SSAA will also continue to encourage authorities to focus their time and precious resources capturing illegal firearms used by criminals, such as the unregistered and illegal firearm used in the Sydney Siege which was not recorded on any firearms database. The free flow of illicit firearms through our porous borders is a more pressing matter that needs urgent attention, not further restrictions on the country’s lawful firearm owners.