A fortnight ago we wrote to the NT Justice Minister and the then-Acting NT Police Commissioner demanding an explanation for the recategorisation of whatever “linear repeating firearms” are.
We haven’t heard anything back, so we’re now writing to each of our individual members in the NT, sending them a personalised e-mail which has their specific local MP’s details and contact information in it - which, incidentally, was quite a bit of work to cross reference.
This is the template form of the letter we’ve sent out to our members; if anyone from the NT is reading this and wants to get in touch, I’m happy to track down their MP’s details and send them through (if they don’t already know them, that is).
Dear [Member’s Name],
As you may have heard, earlier this month the then-Acting NT Police Commissioner Michael Murphy unilaterally declared that “all linear repeating firearms with assisted ejection, chambered for rim fire ammunition, to be category C firearms” and “all linear repeating firearms with assisted ejection, chambered for centrefire ammunition, to be category D firearms”, under section 8(1) of the Firearms Act 1997.
In practical terms, this means the Savage A22R .22 lever-release rifle is now treated the same as a Ruger 10/22 or any other semi-auto .22 and essentially unavailable to most shooters, while the Verney-Carron Speedline lever-release rifle is now treated the same as an AR-15 or L1A1 SLR and effectively banned.
Both these guns are Category A and B literally everywhere else in Australia.
We wrote to the NT Acting Police Minister and the NT Justice Minister a fortnight ago demanding an explanation and none has been forthcoming.
We are writing to all Shooters Union members in the Northern Territory to ask for your help in making sure this matter isn’t swept under the rug and that law-abiding shooters in the Territory get their voices heard in the fight against unfair and unjust gun laws.
Based on your membership information, your local MP appears to be
[Name]
[Electorate]
[Party]
[Email and phone]
Please, contact them as soon as you can and let them know the following key points:
You are angry about the arbitrary recategorisation and how it has been carried out
You want the decision reversed
You want the Firearms Act amended to remove the Police Commissioner’s ability to recategorise firearms into a higher category
Failure to take a pro-gun stance on this (and any other relevant) matter WILL cost them your vote and the vote of all other law-abiding firearms users in their electorate at the next Territory election
Make no mistake, this recategorisation is just the tip of the iceberg and is being closely watched by the other States.
We all need to stand up and take action now to fight for a fair go for all shooters.
Even if you don’t own, or have no intention of owning, a lever-release rifle, if this isn’t stopped then it’s only a matter of time before the antis decide to start coming after pump and lever-action rifles, then “high power sniper rifles” (any centrefire with a telescopic sight), and even potentially PCP air guns (for being more or less silent).
Contacting your MP will only take a few minutes but will make an enormous difference and is one of the most effective ways to get our message to the people in charge.
If you’ve got any questions or would like more information on how you can help, please don’t hesitate to contact [email protected]
Yours in shooting,
The Shooters Union Australia team