“The Firearms Act prohibits people owning firearms that ‘substantially duplicate’ the appearance of high-powered automatic weapons like machine guns and self-loading rifles used by the military,” dailytelegraph.com.au reports. Yup. If a rifle looks like an “assault rifle” — such as the gun above — it falls afoul of Australia’s Firearms Act. How stupid is that? Check this out . . .
Firearms manufacturer Michael Burrough said he has faced problems from the NSW Firearms Registry, which is part of the NSW Police Force, over the gun stocks his business produces.
His “tactical stocks” are black and aluminium, rather than the traditional wooden-type.
When attached to a rifle, the registry believes it falls foul of the appearance laws because it duplicates a military-style firearm, even though the gun’s firing speed is unchanged, he said.
Trying to steer clear of the concerns over weapons with a military appearance
Mr Burrough said a rifle coloured black which had been fitted with a custom stock and chassis — the body of the rifle — had been rejected by the registry. He then painted the gun red, white and blue, asking if it still appeared like a military weapon, but said it was again prohibited.
Red, white and blue? Someone invite that man to The Land of the Free (excluding New Jersey, New York, Maryland and a couple of other states)! Meanwhile, the cops aren’t bothered by Mr. Burrough’s bitching.
Some senior police are unapologetic, claiming a weapon pimped to look like a high-powered assault rifle [ED: pimped I tell you!] still appeared so similar to the real thing they couldn’t be told apart to the untrained eye or from a distance . . .
“There are no plans to make further changes to firearms laws,” a spokesman said.
Bloody ripper!
The source article is behind a paywall. Why do you guys constantly do this?
Try this one :
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/nsw-govt-tests-water-for-easing-appearance-gun-laws/news-story/4968b2ea7bc6d7afa6b0df7a6e4ea752?nk=86f09984c3c010465dd90d3376bb424d-1515450581
If you hit a paywall, throw the offending URL into Google, sometimes a side-step will pop up that avoids the unpleasantries.
If that didn’t work, here’s the text of the article :
“Firearms manufacturer Michael Burrough said he has faced problems from the NSW Firearms Registry, which is part of the NSW Police Force, over the gun stocks his business produces.
His “tactical stocks” are black and aluminium, rather than the traditional wooden-type.
When attached to a rifle, the registry believes it falls foul of the appearance laws because it duplicates a military-style firearm, even though the gun’s firing speed is unchanged, he said.
Trying to steer clear of the concerns over weapons with a military appearance
Mr Burrough said a rifle coloured black which had been fitted with a custom stock and chassis — the body of the rifle — had been rejected by the registry. He then painted the gun red, white and blue, asking if it still appeared like a military weapon, but said it was again prohibited.
Mr Burrough, whose business is within Nationals MP Mr Grant’s electorate in central west NSW, said he’s been forced to restrict its trade in NSW because of what he calls the ambiguity around the laws.
“The registry over the past 24 months has decided to expand that definition and say if that firearm is something that looks similar (to a military weapon), we are going to prohibit it,” he said.
Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party MLC Robert Borsak. Picture: Adam Ward
A request for a guide about what exactly tips a legal firearm over the appearance threshold was knocked back, Mr Burrough said.
Some senior police are unapologetic, claiming a weapon pimped to look like a high-powered assault rifle still appeared so similar to the real thing they couldn’t be told apart to the untrained eye or from a distance.
Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party MLC Robert Borsak, whose party has become a threat in some Nationals seats, is highly critical of the laws.
“Police will always have an argument to restrict anyone holding a firearm at all and they think our society will be safer if that happens,” he said.
“A rational move would be to change the law and do away with the arbitrary judgment by parts of the police force.”
Michael Whybrew, of the Australian Paintball Industry Association, said there was a mindset in government that a firearm was more dangerous on its looks than its function.
“A lot of our appearance laws can be subject to personal opinions,” he said.
Sources confirmed the Police Minister’s office had tested the waters about easing the legislation, but Police Minister Troy Grant had ruled out any changes.
“There are no plans to make further changes to firearms laws,” a spokesman said.”
Here’s another link to try :
http://www.townsvillebulletin.com.au/news/national/nsw-govt-tests-water-for-easing-appearance-gun-laws/news-story/4968b2ea7bc6d7afa6b0df7a6e4ea752?nk=86f09984c3c010465dd90d3376bb424d-1515450908
Tasmania’s rules on the appearance of firearms are worse than NSW’s.
And at least F-Troop mostly rule on the actual function of the firearm.
“A request for a guide about what exactly tips a legal firearm over the appearance threshold was knocked back, Mr Burrough said.”
So…they won’t even tell this guy how he could prevent “running afoul of the law”…he (and everyone else) is just supposed to somehow know? Brilliant!
White top, blue middle, red bottom is actually Russia’s flag.
Where can I buy a bolt-action .22 AR15?
All of my rifles have muzzles and triggers. Does that look too much like an evil assault weapon?
With the brown wooden stock, and tech sights on it, my Ruger 10/22 could look like an M-14 to someone not familiar with guns (e.g. anyone subject to Australian gun control laws). Does that count?
Arbitrarily vague laws are the best!
Australia gun laws, lost cause .
So, in Australia, they ban rifles based upon superficial, cosmetic characteristics without regard to how or if the rifle functions. How is this different than California, or New York, or Maryland?
In most US states, the bans for cosmetic features (e.g. pistol grips, bayonet lugs, or folding stocks) don’t apply to bolt action or rimfire rifles. The Australian one does. So it makes the California laws look logical.
“makes the California laws look logical.”
Woah woah woah, let’s don’t be hasty now.
California legislature gave the doj a blank check for writing regulations that have the power of law when it comes to assault weapons enforcement. It’s no better than nsw laws that give the police the power to arbitrarily change their mind about what is legal and what is not legal.
At least I have seen homosexuals protest against Muslims in Australia. The crazy gays here want to bring more Muslims to America. Good luck Australia, you will need it.
Man a guy could make a fortune “importing” those evil Mossberg tactical 22’s I tells ya’😄😋😎
The government of Australia has contained the balls of their subjects in glass jars
ARSEstralia… land of the freak…home of the knave….run by fa99ots, femi-twats and gun-grabbers….
where the liberals/lefties make the US variety look like Rush Limbaugh ……
From Gallipoli to puzzydom in 100 years.
The Left poisons everything that it touches.
I thought the general wisdom on the subject was that it doesn’t matter what it looks like, all guns are dangerous, no?
You Aussies are fookin plain stupid. Next you will ban toast cut into the shape of a gun or drawings from a child. Have a nice day….
They also ban people who look like they can think.
HEY AUSTRALIA !
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTI-PW9kvkQ
MURICA, F**k YEAH!
The only good thing is this law is a STATE issue and I don’t live there. It also doesn’t apply to people who go across NSW like I did last week for work.
Unlike New Jersey etc who will arrest you for items legal in your home state.
Australia almost makes Canada look like a gun- rights haven. Emphasis on “almost.”
Trudeau: Hold muh rosé spritzer…
And here’s terrifying food for thought: There are free democracies worse than Australia. Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea’s gun laws make Australia look like a firearms paradise.
It is ****ed up that communist dictatorships like China & North Korea punish possession of firearms the exact same way those “free democracies” do, and it really, really says a lot about Asian culture.
Here is the simple difference:
Australia: Firearms ownership is a privilege that must be requested in the form of a license from the state.
America: Firearms ownership is a right that the state is prohibited from infringing upon.
And it is this simple truth that will ensure that an “Australia” never happens in America.
Steve Irwin is rolling in his grave…
Australia is an example of what happens when the entire news media is owned by two companies – Murdoch and Fairfax – both of whom have an anti licensed firearm agenda.
They have brainwashed our country for 25 years that all guns are evil. Every time there is a massacre (or even a 7-11 hold up) it’s front page news with a smug “Australian gun laws are so much better than USA’s”. Every major political party is anti. Every news item anti. Police bureaucrats are anti personal ownership and home defence – and basically dictate whatever they want to lame politicians. This country is Fd for legal ownership.
Most AR15 pattern rifles self-identify as female, thus bans like this Australian one are proof the “Patriarchy” exists, and it’s the Liberals that are behind it! BOOM solved. Onto the next case…
Shame so much of Australia appears to be anti gun…so much empty land for long distance ranges.
Australia will be a province of China by mid-century……their laws are being fixed for an easy transition to their looming status change.
Australia’s flag is also red, white, and blue, BTW.
This same video will be used in another ten years to ban all rifles. How?
Because the public by then will have been thoroughly brainwashed into thinking that “assault weapons” are a real thing and are terribly dangerous. This video will be used to show that ordinary (i.e. nineteenth-century tech) rifles are JUST THE SAME — and therefore need to be banned as well.
The only way to derail this future is to educate enough people in the reality of firearms so they don’t buy the word-games.
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