Australia Is Confiscating Bolt-Action Rifles Because They LOOK Like Assault Weapons

Brittany M. Hughes | March 15, 2018
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This may very well be the dumbest thing you'll read all day. And that's saying something.

The Australian Border Force is now demanding more than 100 gun owners turn in their bolt-action Riverman rifles because they “are substantially the same in appearance as a fully automatic firearm.”

Not because they’re any more dangerous than any other rifle. Not because they spray bullets at 5,000 rounds per second. Not because they’re assault weapons capable of taking down an entire crowd at the Sydney Opera House.

But because they look like assault weapons.

“Australian Border Force authorities have allowed shipments of guns into the country that have since been declared illegal because they look like assault weapons,” 7 News Brisbane reports.

To be clear, the Riverman rifles in question are bolt-action, not semi-automatic. This means that each round must be manually loaded into the chamber by a bolt handle after the weapon is fired.

The Australian outlet says at least 120 of the rifles, which are manufactured in Idaho, were allowed into the country. Now, Australian officials are saying they should never have been allowed in because of their scary appearance, and have given owners 30 days to turn in their now-illegal weapons.

The Border Force is supposedly offering to compensate gun owners for the price they paid for their rifle, which is easily in the thousands per gun. 7 News Brisbane said the buyback could end up costing taxpayers “at least $1,000,000.”

 

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