Bar Association welcomes Government ban on assault rifles

The New Zealand Bar Association welcomes the Government’s ban on assault rifles today. NZBA’s council member, Josh McBride, says that immediate changes to the underlying legislation are now required to ensure that all military specification assault rifles are prohibited, irrespective of their configuration or aesthetics.

Mr McBride, who has prepared a discussion paper and submission to the Government on behalf of the Bar Association, says that assault rifles have no legitimate civilian use. He says they should never have been allowed into New Zealand.

“Previous legislation and regulations failed to adequately restrict the importation and sale of military specification assault rifles and ammunition, which are characterised by the use of intermediate cartridges to reduce recoil and enable rapid firing,” he says. “Intermediate cartridges have no legitimate sporting or recreational purpose.”

Mr McBride says that any new legislation must address not just the form and styling of these weapons, but also their core functionality, namely their use of intermediate cartridges to fire rapidly and accurately at close range targets. [Ends]

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