Richard Prosser MP

Spokesperson for Outdoor Recreation
28 August 2013

Firearms Owners Right to Be Concerned

New Zealand First says firearms licence holders are right to be concerned about changes to firearms law which are due to come into effect in December this year.

Outdoor Recreation spokesperson Richard Prosser says the Arms (Military Style Semi-Automatic Firearms and Import Controls) Amendment Act, gives the Government the power to declare virtually any semi-automatic rifle or shotgun to be a military-style weapon.

He says this means thousands of law abiding gun owners could be declared criminals overnight, by changing the class of licence they need to retain firearms they currently own legally.

“The Act gives the Minister the power to turn a thumbhole into a pistol grip at the stroke of a pen, leaving owners in the position that to stay within the law they must obtain a new class of licence.

“All of a sudden people who have always acted responsibly may be breaking the law by keeping possession of their firearms and the only thing that will have changed is a definition on paper,” says Mr Prosser.

“There is no purpose served by giving any government this draconian power to turn law abiding people into criminals when nearly all the unlawful use of firearms cases involves individuals who have never had a licence in the first place!

“New Zealand First warned last year that this situation might eventuate. This law needs to be revised and the Government must promise that it will not arbitrarily redefine firearms as being military-style until the situation is resolved,” says Mr Prosser.

ENDS

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