The National Firearms Dealers Association (NFDA) released a statement today in response to the recently announced temporary ban on the importation of the seven-shot Adler A110 lever-action shotgun.

The National Firearms Dealers Association believes that the classification of the Adler 110 shotgun as Category A is consistent with Australia’s firearms classification system.

Emotive arguments designed to intimidate governments do not change the facts.

The Adler 110 is not a pump action shotgun. Nor is it a semi-automatic weapon.

When a new firearm is imported into Australia, the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service is responsible for determining the appropriate classification for the firearm.

When Customs classifies a firearm in a category which so restricts the market for it as to make its importation not commercially viable, there is not an emotive media campaign designed to pressure governments into over-ruling the decision.

That is because the industry accepts that the integrity of the system should be maintained and that a decision-making process based on fact and data should not be supplanted by the vagaries of an emotion-based decision-making process.

Opponents of gun ownership do not necessarily have the same respect for the integrity of the administration of the firearms registration system.

It would be unfortunate if, in the name of political expediency, legitimacy were given to their emotion-based approach to the classification of firearms.

Classification system

To be registered in Australia, a firearm must be classified in one of the following categories and, to be lawfully owned, the owner must satisfy the requirements of the category in which the firearm is classified.

Firearm Categories Descriptions Category A an airgun;

a rimfire rifle (other than a semi-automatic rimfire rifle;

a shotgun (other than a pump action or semi-automatic shotgun);

any combination of a shotgun and rimfire rifle. Category B a muzzle loading firearm;

a centrefire rifle (other than an automatic or a semi-automatic centrefire rifle);

any combination of a shotgun and centrefire rifle;

a black powder, ball firing cannon. Category C a semi-automatic rimfire rifle with a magazine capacity of no more than 10 rounds;

a semi-automatic shotgun with a magazine capacity of no more than 5 rounds;

a pump action shotgun with a magazine capacity of no more than 5 rounds;

a tranquilliser gun. Category D a semi-automatic rimfire rifle with a magazine capacity of more than 10 rounds;

a semi-automatic shotgun with a magazine capacity of more than 5 rounds;

a pump action shotgun with a mag. Category E Longarm a machine gun that is a longarm;

a tear gas gun or projector;

a shotgun or rifle with a length of less than 75cm measured parallel to the barrel;

a mortar, bazooka, rocket propelled grenade or similar large calibre military firearm designed to fire an explosive or projectile or any other similar prescribed firearm;

a cannon which is not a black powder ball firing cannon. Category E Handgun a machine gun that is a handgun;

any handgun prescribed for the purposes of this category. General Category Handguns (Category H) a rimfire handgun;

a centrefire handgun that is not a E Handgun;

a muzzle loading handgun;

a air pistol;

that does not exceed 65 centimetres in length.

Australian Customs and Border Protection Service

The Adler 110 shotgun is a 12 gauge, lever-action shotgun.

It does not have any new technology.

Customs classified the Adler as Category A.

Customs is required regularly to consider the category to be assigned to a new firearm proposed to be imported into Australia.

Classifying a 12 gauge, lever-action shotgun as Category A is neither surprising nor exceptional. It is consistent with Australia’s firearms’ classification system.

Propaganda

Laurie Levi from the Coalition Against Duck Shooting described the Adler 110 as a semi-automatic weapon.

Samantha Lee from Gun Control Australia said the Adler verges on being a pump-action shotgun. A firearm cannot verge on being pump action. Either it is or it is not, The Adler 110 is not a pump action shotgun.

Nor is it a semi-automatic weapon.

People like Laurie Levi and Samantha Lee need to focus on emotion because their claims do not stand up to rigorous analysis.

Gun Control Australia

The hysterical intervention of Gun Control Australia in this debate ought to focus attention on how representative of the community it is. This is an organization which, when it appeared before a Senate Committee inquiry into gun-related violence a few months ago refused to say how many members it has.

The reason for their reticence is that they virtually do not have any members.