New shotgun coming to Australia excites enthusiasts, concerns anti-gun groups
A new rapid-fire, lever-action shotgun set to go on sale in Australia is reigniting the gun debate with critics warning the weapon circumvents strict gun-control laws.// While not yet arrived in Australia, the Turkish-made Adler shotgun has already sold more than 7000 units within two weeks of becoming available on the market.// The Adler uses a ```century-old firing mechanism``` which allows the gun to fire rapidly, which has titillated gun enthusiasts.// This, along with the guun's capacity to hold seven rounds plus one in the chamber, has gun-control advocates worried.// Another point of concern is the call to have the gun licensed as a Category A weapon — the widest and least-restrictive provision — while pump-action shotguns are limited to tighter C and D licensees.// Professor Philip Alpers, founder of Gunpolicy.//org, told ABC's 7.//30 the category A distinction deems the weapon ```harmless tool of the trade, tool of the farm```, meaning it's too easy to obtain despite its eight-round capacity.// There are people out there who are constantly whittling away, trying to make guns easier to come by,``` he said.// The tight laws regarding autoomatic and semi-automatic firearms were introduced by the Howard government in 1996 following the Port Arthur massacre that ended with 35 people dead.// Critics believe the new gun skirts around these laws because of its eight-round capacity and its ability to fire eight rounds in almost as many seconds.// Most states have given the gun a category A restriction, but the ACT said they had banned the gun outright because of it can hold more than five rounds.// Australia's biggest gun importer Robert Nioa and the son-in-law of Queensland independent MP Bob Katter acknowledged there is excitement about the gun but denies the weapon allows for rapid-firing.// ```In gun circles, there's much excitement.// The Adler uses a century-old firing mechanism, called a lever action, in a modern gun, he told 7.//30.// ```So the traditional lever shotgun, you have to remove your hand from the trigger on every cycle of the gun that you do like that.// ```The pump-action shotgun, on the other hand, youu can move a lot more quickly.// So there have been claims that this action is the same as that action and it is just simply not true,``` Mr Nioa, who is also a member of the gun lobby, said.// Greens Senator Penny Wright disagrees there is any fundamental difference between the two actions and sees the Adler as a rapid-fire weapon```.// And we severely restrict the use of those because of the speed with which they can be used.// If you're a mass shooter, which is what the Port Arthur laws were designed to curb, then that's the type of gun you go for, said the senator.//