Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull flags tighter gun controls to close loophole
Pro-gun independent senator argues gun laws have rendered Australians “disarmed victims”
Australia’s tough gun controls will be further tightened to restrict access to new rapid-fire shotguns, the prime minister said on Wednesday. But a pro-gun independent senator warned Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull that the move will add to the government’s difficulty in getting legislation through the Senate.
Turnbull was commenting on the fate of the Adler A110 shotgun, a Turkish-manufactured lever-action weapon that was banned from importation last year as an Australian gun dealer was taking orders to sell hundreds.
The Adler can fire eight shots as fast as pump-action shot guns, which are a highly restricted category of rapid-fire gun under national regulations designed to limit the risk of mass shootings.
We had a deal, they didn’t stick to the deal, so how can I deal with them in the future?
Currently, lever-action guns have been listed in the least restrictive gun category since firearm laws were overhauled 20 years ago in response to a lone gunman killing 35 people in Tasmania state.
Gun-control advocates see that as a legal loophole that became widely known only through the advertising surrounding the Adler.
Turnbull told Parliament that the Adler ban would remain until state governments agreed on how such shotguns should be reclassified.
“We are not prepared to see those guns imported into Australia under the current classification which they have,” Turnbull said.