Combined Firearms Council of Victoria

Shooters concerned about the lever action ban should contact their local member of parliament to stop the proposed ban on lever actions.  Doing this is also important for our longer term fight for better firearm policies.

When you do go, there are EIGHT simple things we suggest you say to your MP.

1.  Why you have firearms:  Tell them why you have firearms.  For example, that you hunt deer, or you inherited your firearms from within the family;

2.  What you enjoy about shooting: Give them an example. For example, that you love to spend a couple of days each month enjoying the outdoors, or the comradeship of target shooting prize meetings;

3.  How you will be affected:  Tell them how the ban will affect you. Tell them the ban is nothing more than another arbitrary attack on shooters and you are concerned for the future of shooting.  If you do not have a lever action and the MP zeros in on this fact, tell them it is no different to how politicians stick together on issues such as the carbon tax: we’re sticking together on lever actions.  Do not allow the MP dwell on the merits of the “the gun”: bring them back to the broader issue of this being “another arbitrary attack on shooters”.  The fact this is about lever actions is irrelevant: this is a fight over firearms policy. Last time it was about handguns (2002) and before that, semi-automatics (1996). Now it’s lever actions;

4.  Shooters are vetted by state police: Tell them you cannot hold a shooters licence or buy a firearm without being approved to do so by your state police which demonstrates you are a trust worthy citizen.  Without their approval, you can’t get legal access to any sort of firearm, let alone a lever action firearm;

5.  You vote: Tell them this issue is important to you, and the other 800,000 or so shooters across Australia. Tell them that like 1996, and other elections where there has been a strong pro-shooting vote, this is important enough to affect how you vote at the next election;

6.  Shooting industry action: Tell them the major shooting organisations are mobilising on this issue and gun owners are being urged to see their MPs;

7.  Lack of a problem:  Tell your MP there has been no problem in our society with the ownership of lever action rifles for over 140 years. The government is responding to nothing more than a YouTube clip showing the operation of a limited capacity lever action in skilled hands – and we hope the government bases its decisions on something more than that!;

8. Lever action is old technology:  Lever action is not rapid fire. People who say it is have generally never handled a firearm let alone something with a rapid fire action. Lever action is old technology that is more synonymous with the Battle of Little Bighorn than any modern context.  It is synonymous with Hollywood legends such as John Wayne;

The Martin Place siege: It is possible the MP will tell you the work at national level started with the Martin Place siege.  That’s got nothing to do with the lever action issue. The offender did not have a firearm licence nor did he use a lever action.  Tell the MP the Martin Place siege became an excuse to address the Adler YouTube video.

Ask what your MP will do to fight the ban. Don’t accept vague or unclear answers.  If they won’t give you a straight answer, you will have at least made your point, loud and clear.  Job done!

If you are in Victoria, click here to find the details of your local MP for your electorate (listed alphabetically). Click here if you don’t know what electorate you are in.