INDEPENDENT NEWS

Select Committee Changes Water Down Gun Law Reforms

Published: Tue 11 Feb 2020 10:54 AM
Changes recommended by the Finance and Expenditure Select Committee to the government’s gun law reforms risk watering down the new law’s effectiveness, says Gun Control NZ.
The recommended changes include leaving the 10 year firearms licence period in place for existing licence holders and only introducing minor restrictions on firearms advertising.
“We are very disappointed that the Select Committee has undermined the government’s commitment to 5 year firearms licences for everyone” says Philippa Yasbek, Gun Control NZ co-founder. This new proposal would give new applicants a 5 year firearms licence. Anyone renewing their licence could renew it for 10 years.
“The government’s own data shows that young gun owners are much more likely to engage in criminal activity than the average person. For those who get a firearms licence as a teenager, 31% have been convicted of an offence by the time they are 20. By the time they’re 30, 45% of them have a conviction.This is almost double the conviction rate of the rest of the population. At the very least, new licence holders should be vetted every 5 years until they’ve held a licence for 15 years” says Philippa Yasbek.
“Gun advertising should be regulated like alcohol. You can’t advertise alcohol in a way that promotes irresponsible behaviour. We need to similarly prevent the glamourisation of firearms. The select committee has copped out here by only requiring the inclusion of safety messages or legal requirements in advertising.” says Gun Control NZ co-founder Nik Green.
“They have also missed the opportunity to enable local governments to control where firearms are advertised through the use of billboards and signage.” says Nik Green. “Communities like Christchurch - which have suffered so much from gun violence - deserve that right.”

Next in New Zealand politics

One-stop Shop Major Projects On The Fast Track
By: New Zealand Government
GPS 2024: Over $20 Billion To Get Transport Back On Track
By: New Zealand Government
New Zealand Provides Further Humanitarian Support To Gaza And The West Bank
By: New Zealand Government
High Court Judge Appointed
By: New Zealand Government
Lobbyists Riding Shotgun With Coalition Government
By: New Zealand Labour Party
Say Hello To NZ’s Most Anti-environment Government In Decades
By: Green Party
Fast Track Is Outright Assault On Environment
By: Forest And Bird
Coalition Sticking Plasters Over New Zealand’s Infrastructure Crisis
By: New Zealand Taxpayers' Union
A Fast Track To A More Sure-footed Future
By: Infrastructure NZ
GPS 2024: New $500 Million Pothole Prevention Fund
By: New Zealand Government
GPS 2024: 15 New Roads Of National Significance
By: New Zealand Government
GPS 2024: Keeping New Zealanders Safer On Our Roads
By: New Zealand Government
GPS 2024: Investing In Reliable Public Transport
By: New Zealand Government
View as: DESKTOP | MOBILE © Scoop Media