Firearms laws in New Zealand

Introduction

It has been clear for some time that many people who make comments publicly and privately about firearms in New Zealand do not know what the laws and regulations actually are. The unfortunate incident in Napier brought forth the usual flood of incorrect statements (including the old chestnut about how universal registration would have in some unspecified way been able to prevent this and other incidents involving illegally held firearms).

SSANZ now feel it is time to spell out what the current regulatory framework is and how it came about and how its history has led to its perceived weaknesses, and its actual strengths.

Summary

A firearm is a device from which a bullet (or a swarm of small particles known as shot) is propelled, usually by gas generated from the combustion of propellant powder. These have been around in various forms since the fifteenth century and the advent of plastics has enabled stock shapes which are easier to hold than earlier designs.

Firearm control laws in New Zealand have been changed in three major waves since 1920

• 1920 Pistols and machine guns banned, long guns controlled
• 1984 Lifetime licence, and owners not guns licensed
• 1992 MSSAs created and lifetime licences changed to 10 years
• 2009 MSSAs redefined – Arms Amendment Bill 3 under consideration.

Apart from such minor use as for returning stolen property, the registration system was found to be seriously flawed and never used for solving serious crime. This was confirmed when the police reviewed the utility of the system, conceding it was of no value and expensive in terms of resources to maintain. Calls since the mid 1970s had been made for a shift to a better system, and after much public consultation, the 1983 Arms Act was enacted.

The new Act abolished registration for the rifles and shotguns in widespread sporting use in NZ, and instead focused on licensing the individual rather than registering sporting long arms.

Firearm ownership was restricted to “fit and proper” people who were interviewed and supported by referees. It retained registration for handguns which had been used in NZ for competitive target shooting only since 1969 and created different licence endorsements (including one for collectible (restricted) firearms, which are not to be fired and are also registered); handguns, dealers and tourists. These were all distinct from the licence for ordinary users of sporting long-arms in NZ.

In 1990 the multiple homicides at Aramoana raised public concern which was addressed by the ending of the lifetime licence and its replacement with one for ten years, and which included stricter refereeing along with inspections of firearm storage facilities for home users. The term Military Style Semi Automatic (MSSA) was introduced and a specific arms licence endorsement for MSSAs was created. Like all other forms of endorsed arms licences this required four referees (instead of the usual two), and compliance with existing laws and use was emphasised. It is known that several hundred MSSAs escaped registration when the Arms Amendment Act 1992 took effect.

Subsequent reviews of NZ firearm controls have included one, in the mid-1990s, by Sir Thomas Thorp, which urged (among other things) that control be taken away from the police and recommended a return to full firearm registration (provided public acceptance was widespread). These culminated in various Arms Amendment Bills, the third of which remains to be enacted.

Types of Firearms

Before discussing the law and more importantly the regulations imposed from time to time by the police, we should probably define what the types of firearms are and the terms used to describe them as these are frequently misquoted even by people who should know what they are talking about.

The best description of a “firearm” is probably a device which uses the rapid expansion of gas from a chemical reaction to project one or more objects from a tube in an aimed manner and which is more or less portable. A sub-set of this is air guns in which the expanding gas is release of pre-compressed air (or other gases). Larger guns such as artillery are excluded from this as being not portable.

These devices come in a range of types and sizes from very small and concealable to large and requiring more than one person to move although still operated by one person.

Modern firearms (made since about 1870) contain the propellant charge, the primer, and the bullet or projectile in one cartridge case. Older firearms were charged with the propellant and the projectile separately directly into the barrel or revolver cylinder (muzzle loaders), and fired with a separate source of ignition.

Pistol

More correctly “handgun” – a firearm able to be carried easily by one person and fired with one hand and generally able to be concealed on the person. The term pistol in common use includes single shot pistols, revolvers and semi-automatic pistols. In New Zealand any firearm with overall length shorter than 762 mm is defined as a pistol.

Single shot pistols are an older class of handgun in which only a single cartridge or charge is loaded. Today these are used almost exclusively for competition target shooting.

Revolvers carry 5 or more cartridges in a revolving cylinder which is rotated to bring successive cartridges in line with the barrel. These may be “double action” in which case each pull of the trigger will fire a cartridge with no other action needed, or “single action” in which case the hammer needs to be pulled back before each shot. All modern revolvers are double action. To reload any revolver, the empty cartridge cases must be removed from the cylinder and replaced with fresh ones.

Semi-automatic pistols carry from 6 to 18 cartridges which are contained in a magazine (or more in extended magazines), and after cocking, each pull of the trigger fires one cartridge until the magazine is empty. Empty cases are automatically discharged into the air. To reload the pistol the empty magazine is removed and replaced with a charged one.

All handguns except some older single shot pistols have a rifled barrel which means the projectile is made to spin by being fired through a grooved barrel, increasing accuracy and range.

Pistols generally use relatively low powered cartridges which typically have small capacity, and provide short range and impact compared with rifles.

Rifle

A rifle is also intended to be carried by one person but to be fired with both hands from the shoulder, and by definition has a rifled barrel. In New Zealand firearms with length greater than 762 mm and a rifled barrel may be defined as rifles.

The vast majority of firearms in New Zealand are classed as long arms (rifles and shotguns). Rifles use cartridges ranging from quite low powered to very high powered with a range of three kilometres or greater.

Bolt action rifles are operated by operating the bolt which inserts a cartridge into the barrel and cocks the rifle. Once the trigger is pulled the bolt must be worked again to eject the empty case, reload the rifle and cock the action. Used in most hunting rifles as probably the most accurate action, and in military use until 1940-1950. Generally bolt action rifles contain the cartridges in a magazine under the bolt which may be fixed into the rifle or removable for reloading. Other types of magazine may be found such as tubular.

Semi-automatic rifles are, like such pistols, once cocked capable of firing one shot with each pull of the trigger until empty, and contain the cartridges in a magazine, which is usually removable.

Fully-automatic rifles are military firearms which are capable of firing more than one shot with each pull of the trigger. Modern general issue military rifles typically can fire one shot at a time, or three shots at a time, or a full magazine, which is described as selective fire. These are sometimes referred to as “assault rifles” or “assault weapons”. Technically an “assault rifle” is defined as having an intermediate calibre, select fire capability, a detachable magazine & is able to lay down large volumes of rapid fire whilst on the move. So called “high powered” firearms chambered in full power rifle calibres that share some similarities with assault rifles are technically “battle rifles”. None of this is relevant for civilians in New Zealand except for collectors. Of course an “assault weapon” could be a baseball bat or a knife.

Military style semiautomatic rifles (MSSAs). This is a New Zealand-only term and refers to civilian versions of “assault rifles”. These are either replicas of military rifles made only with a semiautomatic action or, less often today, fully automatic military rifles which only have the semiautomatic action functioning. They are defined by the NZ police as having any one of the following features - bayonet lug, flash hider, “free standing” pistol grip, folding or telescopic stock, or magazine capacity greater than 15 rounds for .22 rimfire calibre or 7 rounds for other calibres. Some redefinition of “free-standing” in relation to the pistol grip is currently (mid-2009) underway. Semiautomatic rifles and shotguns not coming under these definitions are classed as being in “sporting configuration”.

There are also single shot rifles use mainly for target shooting, and lever action, pump action and other manually operated repeating mechanisms.

“Muskets”. Older long firearms (before the early 1800s) had smooth-bore barrels and are generically called muskets, while rifles by definition have rifled barrels from which the projectiles are discharged spinning, to improve accuracy. Replica muskets are still used today.

Shotgun

This is a long firearm with a large diameter smooth bore barrel (i.e. not rifled). These normally fire “shot” that is a large number of small projectiles fired at once, and are intended for shorter range, less accurate, shooting than are rifles. They can also fire solid projectiles called “slugs” but these also have a relatively short range.

Single shot. These hold only one cartridge and require reloading, generally by breaking open at the breech, after each shot.

Double barrelled. These shotguns have two barrels either side by side or above one another (“over and under”) and can fire two shots with each loading, either with sequential pulls of one trigger or two separate triggers. (Some rifles are also configured this way),

Pump-action. These have a single barrel and a magazine (nearly always a tube magazine mounted under the barrel) which hold anywhere between two and seven or more cartridges. Reloading after each shot is carried out by operating a grip on the magazine backwards and forwards (“pumping”).

Semiautomatic. These have a single barrel and a magazine (nearly always a tube magazine mounted under the barrel) which hold anywhere between two and seven or more cartridges. These fire a shot with each pull of the trigger until the magazine is empty.

Military style semiautomatic shotguns (New Zealand only). Similar definition to the rifles, mainly relating to magazine capacity, but may include bayonet lug, pistol grip etc for some models.

Machine Gun

These are fully automatic firearms with rifled barrels, generlly designed to be mouned on a tripod or bipod supported by the ground, and although fired by one person, may require a support team of several people.  While some of these have been carried and fired by one person, and they can be moved from one place to another, they are not designed as portable guns.  Machine guns typically fire high-powered rifle cartridges and have high firing rates and long ranges.  Machine guns are classified as light, medium or heavy depending on the weight, portbility and calibre

 

Submachine guns

More correctly “sub-calibre” machine guns. These are small machine guns designed to be carried and operated by one person. They normally use low powered pistol cartridges (sub-calibre) and fire up to 75 rounds from a single magazine (more typically 20-30). While semiautomatic versions are made, these guns are designed as fully automatic, that is they fire continuously when the trigger is pulled. Effectively this is a long barrelled fully automatic pistol and some are indeed designated as pistols (machine pistols).

Who can own and use what.

Before we come to the history of laws and regulations in New Zealand it is important to clarify what the existing current rules are about who can legally own and use each of these types of firearms. It is clear from statements made by a number of sources that this is not well understood.

Licences

All owners of firearms in New Zealand are required to have a firearms licence. All users of firearms are required either to have a licence or to be supervised by someone who does. There are some anomalies for airguns where a person less than 18 years old may not purchase one (or use one except under supervision) unless they have a firearms licence, but otherwise airguns’ owners and users are not controlled.

• A basic licence, also referred to as an A licence, entitles a person to own or use -
• Any rifle or shotgun except a military style semiautomatic (MSSA).

To own or use any other firearm a special endorsement to the A licence is required -

• B endorsement allows a person to own pistols for target shooting and to use them at a designated pistol club range and to transport them for this purpose. Permission is required from the police to keep pistols overnight out of the home district.
• C endorsement allows a person to own certain pistols, submachine guns or machine guns defined as Restricted Weapons for collecting purposes but not to fire them or take them from their home other than for exhibition purposes, and Restricted Weapons are to be disabled. This endorsement also covers exhibition in museums or use for theatrical purposes. MSSAs are not allowed to be held on a C endorsement.
• E endorsement allows a person to own and use MSSAs for any legal purpose – hunting, target shooting or pest destruction. An important note here is that, unlike pistols, MSSAs may not be fired or even held by anyone other than the person on whose endorsement they are recorded.
• Dealer’s licence allows a person to deal in firearms for commercial purposes, and these may be transported or fired for demonstration purposes only.
• F endorsement is required for all persons working in commercial premises where firearms are sold and handled (gunshops).
• “V” Type licence –sometimes called a “Tourist licence” is issued for a maximum of 1 year to those visiting NZ and wishing to use or possess sporting firearms.

In order to obtain a basic firearms licence (A) a person must be over 16 years old, undertake a safety training course run by the Mountain Safety Council and pass an exam. They also need to provide two referees (one not related to them) who will be interviewed as to the candidate’s suitability. The police will carry out a background check and a person has to be declared a “fit and proper person” to own and use firearms. Security is checked. There are a number of offences or conditions which preclude obtaining even an A licence.

To obtain any endorsement the owner of an A licence must provide good reason for wanting the firearms covered by the endorsement and name four referees (one personal, one not related and two who can discuss his firearms experience and suitability). Referees are interviewed thoroughly, a further and stricter police assessment carried out and evidence is required relating to the particular activity to be covered – for B endorsement membership of a recognised pistol club and completion of probation; for C endorsement evidence of specific firearms interests and/or membership of a club or organisation; for E endorsement evidence of need for an MSSA and/or membership of a suitable club or organisation. Obtaining an endorsement is considerably more expensive and difficult than a basic licence.

So, contrary to some popular beliefs (even sometimes from people who should know better) legal firearms ownership is not particularly easy and ownership and use of even a “standard” rifle or shotgun requires investigation by the police and provision of two referees (one of whom is non-related). Ownership and use of all the other types requires a more thorough investigation by the police and backup by four other people and usually national organisations. The number of people in all classes and in particular the endorsed licences is well-known and controlled.

Illegal ownership (criminal or not) on the other hand is actually quite easy and certainly cheap, as we will see in looking at the history of firearms law shortly. The number of firearms held for actual criminal purposes is thought to be quite small.

Revocation

A firearms licence may be revoked, that is taken away, and eventually cancelled under quite a long list of circumstances.

Security

From 1984 to the present, A category firearms have been required to be kept in a “locked secure room” or in a container (cabinet) made of the equivalent of 2 mm thick steel. B C and E firearms are required to be kept in a safe container made of the equivalent of 6 mm steel and with locks of a specified quality. Bolts of firearms that have them are required to be removed and stored separately, and ammunition is also required to be kept separately and securely.

Dealers are required to have comprehensive security arrangements. All these security arrangements are visited on initial application and for any extra endorsements to make sure they comply and are supposed to be subsequently re-inspected, at regular intervals. If carried out universally such regular inspections might well be useful.

Security is checked to ensure it meets the requirements for the A licence and again for any endorsements, before the licence/ endorsement is issued.

Registration

This term covers recording of a firearm as being owned by and/or held by a particular natural person i.e. in New Zealand firearms are registered to or recorded against a person not in their own right.

Another set of misconceptions arise when this is discussed. Where the rules come from will be covered in the history but the current situation is –

• “A category” firearms – the majority of rifles and shotguns and airguns are not registered, do not need to be registered and there are no records since 1983. The numbers are estimated at between one and two million. As the existing records for the very much small numbers of firearms which do need to be registered (10-20,000) are considered to contain a number of inaccuracies, it seems unlikely that it would be possible to maintain an accurate overall registry except with large set-up and maintenance costs. The numbers of firearms held by non-licensed (but otherwise non-criminal) holders may be quite large (possibly hundreds of thousands).
• “B and C” category firearms have always been registered against a licence-holder’s endorsements and can only be bought or sold (or imported) by means of police permits which allow maintenance of the records. While there are an unknown (but probably quite small) number of illegally held pistols and restricted firearms, those held by law-abiding licence holders are tightly controlled and even allowing for errors in the records are quite accurately accounted for.
• “E” category firearms were not registered between 1984 and 1992 (and shotguns never were). In 1992 law-abiding owners who chose to, registered their appropriate firearms as E category. Since then they can only be bought or sold (or imported) by means of police permits which allow maintenance of the registry, but the accuracy of the registry itself may not be high. The number of E category firearms illegally held (by criminals or not) is unknown or at least unpublished. Although import records should have been kept by Customs the estimates were as high as 80,000 in 1992 (NZ Police) and as low as 3000 in 2009 (authoritative source).

Criminal use of firearms

Accurate data for this is available, but in broad terms – an MSSA has been used in one “massacre” in New Zealand and several overseas but not in normal crimes such as armed robbery; pistols are sometimes used in robberies and murders; by far the most common firearms used in crime are shotguns and .22 rifles (often with cut-down “sawn-off” barrels to aid portability). When taken possession of by the police pistols are sometimes ones that have been stolen and reported as such; shotguns and rifles are usually not. Firearms related crime is recorded as less than 2%; that is to say that the vast majority (some 98%) of crime is not committed with a firearm.

This does not include accidents (almost always A category rifles and occasionally shotguns) or suicides (generally A category firearms).

History of firearms legislation in New Zealand

It is useful to know something of this to understand why we are where we are at currently with control of the various classes of firearm. Since 1984 New Zealand has diverged from more common laws and policies round the world. This has been possible because of our small size and lack of land boundaries, and necessary because of the large number of firearms in a low population with limited financial resources. We understand that most firearms owners and many control authorities round the world envy New Zealand’s firearms legislation, in terms of the relative freedom it offers owners, the low cost of enforcement and low level of abuse.

A brief history follows with more detail of recent activity.

Pre-1920

New Zealand, along with the rest of the British Empire and many other countries, placed little

or no restrictions on firearms ownership by the public, and people who wished to own and carry firearms for whatever purpose, did so. Crime rates were not high.

1920 to 1983

In 1920 the British Government regulated the ownership of firearms possibly for fear of popular unrest and use of firearms against the government. At this time quite a large number of firearms were repatriated by members of the armed forces returning from war zones. New Zealand of course followed suit and the 1920 Gun Act became the forerunner of subsequent laws and regulations. In short, by the 1960s pistols and machine guns were not allowed to be used (but could be collected), rifles were acquired by police permit and registered under a manual recording system, and shotgun owners needed a shotgun permit but the guns were not individually recorded. In 1969, after a period of negotiation, pistols for target shooting were allowed to be used subject to gradually relaxing restrictions, provided users were members of the newly formed NZ Pistol Association. Pistols were registered by and to the pistol club, and individuals had a licence to carry pistols they owned. Revolvers (and single shots) and semi-automatic pistols were treated separately. Collectors were allowed to own and keep pistols (and other restricted firearms) and these were registered to them as individuals. Some minor amendments were made during the 1970s, mostly concerning some liberalisation of the types of pistols allowed.

By the end of this period it was recognised that the registration system was using police resources but had achieved nothing (police sources stated that no prosecution had ever been brought as a result of registration information) and firearms owners and the police were discussing an overhaul of the complete system. This soon came.

1983-1984

After lengthy discussions and negotiations between a group of firearms advocates and the police and the appropriate ministries some ground-breaking legislation was launched. The essence of this, and a key factor in all that has followed, was that the firearms owner was to be licensed and not basic firearms. Registration of rifles was to stop.

A lifetime licence (the Red Book) was to be issued to anyone who could pass the Mountain Safety Council course, was deemed a “fit and proper person” and met the necessary security requirements for the safe storage of firearms. This allowed him/her to purchase and hold and use any rifle or shotgun that did not have a fully automatic function (these had been banned since 1920). Pistol shooters were allowed to purchase and own pistols in their own right (i.e. not through a club) but this had to be by means of a permit to procure approved also by the club, and only pistol club members could do this. Collectors carried on more or less unchanged and also used the new permits to procure. The licence cost $10, had a unique number and contained the owners address (with space for changes) and any endorsements he/she had. Permits to procure (or import) B and C class firearms (see above) were obtained from the police on request and showing good reason and the firearm procured was subsequently shown to an Arms Officer and registered to the individual. Licences of pistol shooters and collectors were endorsed B and C respectively and dealers had D endorsements.

All this was intended to simplify the process of using firearms, while ensuring the suitability of the owner and continuing to control and register firearms regarded as “especially dangerous”.

Discussions between the police and the various groups produced the document called the Firearms Manual which covered (and still does) the actual regulations governing ownership and use of firearms.

In retrospect this process (and the ensuing period) can be seen as the zenith of good relations, communication and co-operation between the shooting public and the New Zealand Police.

After going through the Select Committee process the Bill became the 1983 Arms Act.

Note the control implications of this. Pistols and restricted firearms continued to be controlled and registration records of these firearms continued as accurately (or inaccurately) as before. Transfer of these was by permit and so controlled both parties. All rifles ceased to have registration details taken and while transfer was supposed to be between licence holders this could not be enforced. Shotguns continued not to be registered although transfer was supposed to be between licence holders.

It is important to realise that from this moment the registration of any rifle or shotgun became impossible, and this includes what are now called MSSAs. From Day One in 1984 it would be impossible to know who had transferred any long firearm to another person, legally or not. Any subsequent attempt to do so would be purely voluntary, and by definition this excludes anyone who would not wish to be recorded as the owner of any particular firearm for any reason.

1984 to 1992

Project Foresight (essentially a public relations exercise) was launched to encourage firearms owners to take up the new licences (and reflected the fact that universal implementation of this was recognised to be impossible). Nearly 300,000 licences were issued and it was thought that the majority of firearms owners became licensed. While this was not possible to determine accurately, some idea of the numbers was known. During this period B and C endorsement holders bought and sold firearms as they had before (and have since) with savings in the cost of the registrations (which now became free and were to the owners). Rifles and shotguns including what have subsequently been called MSSAs were bought and sold and imported with no ownership records being kept. A number (which ought to be known, but has not been published, and may be significant) were imported of Chinese semiautomatic replicas of fully automatic military rifles, and sold more or less as commodities. These were primarily the SKS, SKK and AK47 Russian rifles, but also some AR 15s, M14s and others. Large quantities of suitable ammunition (mainly 7.62x39) was imported and sold. Some concerns were expressed in the firearms community about this totally unregulated trade (sometimes not carried out by regular dealers).

In Britain (where such sales were also not specifically controlled) in 1986 an individual carried out a “massacre” with such a replica AK47.

In 1990 in New Zealand David Grey perpetrated what became called the Aramoana massacre also using a replica AK47. At this point the NZ police and government decided to review the control of such firearms and the Arms Act as a whole. While this was primarily a knee-jerk reaction to the Grey case (where signs of instability had gone unrecognised or at least not dealt with by the police), it was also an opportunity to deal with some conservative concerns about the “liberality” of the 1983 Arms Act.

1992

A significant amendment to the Arms Act was put in place after largely ignoring some perfunctory gestures towards consultation with the firearms community. The key items were:

• In spite of eight years during which there had been no control over rifle movements, the definition of “sporting configuration” was added to the principal Act and a new class of firearm was created referred to as MSSAs (as defined above);
• An E endorsement was created to control the movement of these which was to be by permit to procure/import by holders of E endorsements only, and they were to be registered;
• Licences ceased to be lifetime but were to be reviewed at 10 year intervals;
• These licences and endorsements were much more expensive ($124 for a licence and $200 for endorsements), although permits were still free;
• Vetting of applicants (as shown above) was instituted;
• Restrictions were added on the mail order purchase of firearms and ammunition;
• Firearms were not allowed to be left in “unattended” motor vehicles;

But a number of other things were unchanged ;

• B and C firearms continued as before – transfer by permit control and registered;
• Other rifles and shotguns continued not to be registered or controlled.

Subsequently various other controls were instituted by regulation e.g. the number of E cat firearms was to be stabilised and new imports had to be accompanied by destruction of an existing one; spare parts were to be controlled; good reasons had to be given for acquiring an MSSA by permit; permits for any purpose required an application form to be completed.

The new licences were issued first to existing B and C endorsed licence holders and to people who declared that they had MSSAs, and then in alphabetical order to other firearms owners (standard rifles and shotguns). The first group (which was then and continues to be, a very small percentage of the total) was all processed in 1992 (and subsequently renewed or lapsed in 2002), and the rest progressively up to 1997.

When licences needed to be renewed the vetting process was to be repeated at much the same level as initially. If they lapsed or were not renewed the reasons and disposal of any firearms owned was supposed to be investigated but seems not to have been in all cases. Initially quite a large number of the “lifetime” licences were not converted into 10 year licences (about 100,000) and it is assumed that many of these did not in fact relinquish their firearms and especially when non-conversion was not investigated, and this immediately created a large number of paper criminals, whose subsequent activities were out of sight of any control mechanism.

Several suggestions have been made that “universal registration” would in some unspecified way be useful in controlling criminal use of firearms. In 1996 the Government engaged the then Justice Thomas Thorp to undertake a review of the use and licensing of firearms and among other things he suggested that registration of all firearms would be useful, but conceded that it would only be realistic if a large percentage of owners would in fact comply and concluded that they would not (and so contrary to subsequent statements he did not actually recommend universal registration). This and a number of his other proposals were put into an Arms Amendment Bill (No 2) but strenuous public protests at Select Committee hearings and the largest number of individual submissions (6500 odd) ever made before or since to any Bill, persuaded the Select Committee to recommend that these changes not be made and the Bill was put back on the shelf, and later dropped.

Since then, a further Bill, Arms Amendment Bill No 3, has been on the books for four years and contains a number of changes which may inconvenience firearms owners, but does not include universal registration, which the police have again stated will achieve nothing useful.

2009

In June 2009 Police changed the definition of “military pattern free standing pistol grip” as it applies to the Arms Act 1983 thereby redefining the criteria for MSSAs. Overnight a large number of rifles and shotguns legally held on an “A” licence now fell outside the definition of “sporting configuration” and into the category of MSSAs.

Originally (in 1992) such rifles that did not have any of the features described were defined as A category rifles. This included rifles with thumbhole stocks, aftermarket stocks in which the pistol grip was attached to the butt-stock and various fabrications nominally removing the “free-standing” nature of the pistol grip. There have also been a number of attempts by firearms manufacturers to comply by the use of thumbhole stocks, which are by no definition “free-standing pistol grips” and these have been included. As this is written the mechanics of implementing this new control are unknown. This may well be successful in preventing future abuse of the system but will do little to deal with most of the “A cat MSSAs” already in circulation. An Arms Amendment Bill is likely to be raised in 2009.

Universal Registration

Whether or not universal registration would achieve any reduction in the small number of crimes committed with firearms is open to question. There is no evidence to suggest that such a move would contribute to lowering firearms related crime in NZ and overseas experience tells us that the opposite may in fact be true. Whether or not such universal registration would be useful, or whether it could be afforded or is practicable, the fact is that it is not possible.

Removing the mandatory requirement to register rifles in 1984 then and now means that any form of registration would only be voluntary and it is likely that the firearms and persons one might want to include in a register are those which/who will not. Further, in 1992 the same happened to “MSSAs” – only those people with legitimate uses for them and eligible to own them obtained an E endorsement and registered their MSSAs.

Firearm control laws in New Zealand have been changed in three major waves since 1920

• 1920 Pistols and machine guns banned, long guns controlled
• 1984 Lifetime licence, and owners not guns licensed
• 1992 MSSAs created and lifetime licences changed to 10 years
• 2009 MSSAs redefined – Arms Amendment Bill 3 under consideration.

 

Issued December 2009