Adler shotgun explainer: what's the big deal about lever-action firearms?

Gun control in Australia has been thrust into the political spotlight once again as reports emerge that Malcolm Turnbull may be willing to consider relaxing Australia's firearms laws.

The reports appear to focus on softening restrictions on lever-action shotguns in exchange for support from the Liberal Democrat senator David Leyonhjelm to pass industrial relations

legislation. National firearms laws created after the Port Arthur massacre in 1996 set out how weapons can be used and imported, in collaboration with federal, state and territory

governments. Here are five questions about Australia's gun laws you need to know the answers to. 1. WHAT'S THE BIG DEAL ABOUT LEVER-ACTION SHOTGUNS? There's a lot of attention

on the Adler lever-action shotgun but the issue is far bigger than that. Gun control groups – as well as police and law enforcement agencies – have raised concerns about the categorisation

of all lever-action shotguns as "category A". This is the most common type of licence that Australian gun owners can obtain; there are more than 700,000 category A licence holders

across the country. By way of contrast, pump-action shotguns are listed as "category C" firearms. It is more difficult for gun owners to obtain these types of firearms, and there

are greater restrictions on their use. Some firearms in this category are entirely restricted outside of specific military purposes. Despite their relatively low categorisation, lever-action

shotguns can still fire extremely rapidly, which has been a issue of concern. Here's one illustration from Arnold Schwarzenegger in Terminator 2. In this (over-the-top) footage,

Schwarzenegger is firing a Marushin M1887 lever-action shotgun. The debate about categorisation is being canvassed in the upcoming national firearms review, which is due to be completed this

year. 2. WHAT HAS TRIGGERED THE ROW? The federal government issued an import ban on all lever-action shotguns with a firing capacity of more than five rounds. The justice minister, Michael

Keenan, announced the temporary ban in 2015. Keenan said it had been introduced because "the government was concerned that a significant number of high-capacity lever-action shotguns

were shortly due to be imported into Australia". This was in part a reference to the new Adler A-110, a model with a higher capacity magazine. In August 2016 the government decided to

extend the ban, pending the outcome of the national firearms review later in the year. 3. WHY WERE PEOPLE UNHAPPY WITH THE BAN? The decision annoyed a lot of people for a lot of different

reasons. The gun lobby was furious that all types of lever-actions weapons were subject to an import ban. Gun-friendly politicians such as Lleyonhjelm and some Nationals party members have

opposed it. On the other side of the fence, gun control groups see the ban as largely ineffective. This is because the Adler and other lever-action shotguns can be easily extended to

increase their magazine capacity. For instance, an Adler with a five-cartridge magazine can be extended to hold 10 cartridges "with a simply DIY kit", according to Gun Control

Australia's Samantha Lee. And Adler seven-shot rifles can be modified down to five-shot magazines to meet the import criteria. Various online gun outlets in Australia offer cheap and

easy extension kits that would allow a person to legally import a firearm and then extend its magazine's capacity. 4. WHO HAS THE POWER TO RESTRICT GUN IMPORTS IN AUSTRALIA? The power

rests with the immigration minister, Peter Dutton. To enforce the lever-action shotgun moratorium, he introduced a regulation amending the customs (prohibited imports) regulations 1956. This

added to the prohibition list "a lever-action shotgun fitted with a firearm magazine having a capacity of more than five rounds". But how lever-action shotguns are categorised is

a separate issue. National laws that restrict the use of firearms have been made in agreement with the states and territories. The categorisation of weapons can essentially be changed only

when all the states and territories agree. 5. DOES THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT HAVE THE POWER TO WEAKEN GUN CONTROL LAWS? The government could easily lift the import ban on lever-action shotguns.

The immigration minister could simply repeal the regulation.This wouldn't change the broader gun control framework in Australia. To change the categories of weapons, or make changes to

laws surrounding the use of or tests for firearms, would require that the changes be made by the states and territories.