For kids spark uproar

the accompanying advertising slogans of ‘‘great gift ideas to keep them active this summer’’ were clearly aimed at getting young children to pick up weapons.

‘‘It does seem to be a dangerous slippery slope for New Zealand if you look at the United States.’’

Gun City owner David Tipple is defending the use of young children on the pamphlet and said people weren’t well-informed about firearms figures.

‘‘I think it’s thoroughly appropriate,’’ Tipple said. ‘‘I totally believe in educating your children in overcoming their fears.’’

The pamphlet features pictures of children in the backyard shooting at targets, and provides gun safety information as well as a guide to how old you have to be to use a firearm.

Jayson Pirini, who lost his 12-year-old son Keegan MacPherson-Pirini when an air rifle he owned accidentally discharged, last night said he didn’t think air guns should be encouraged for children because they were more powerful than they seemed.

Keegan died on November 6, 2014, after suffering a chest wound at a property in Pongakawa, near Te Puke.

‘‘They’re not like they used to be – they’re meant to be an intro to a firearm,’’ he said. ‘‘They were for kids but now they should have restrictions on them. I’d treat it like a real gun, it’s more than an air gun. That just gives a false impression.’’

Under the Firearms Act 1993 you can be prosecuted if you sell of supply an airgun to an unlicensed person under 18, this could happen if an adult buys an airgun as a gift for a child.

Anyone 18 or over can possess and use an airgun, anyone under 18 may use an airgun if they hold a New Zealand Firearms Licence or are under the ‘‘immediate supervision’’ of a firearms licence holder or a person 18 years of age or older. Under 16-year-olds must always be under ‘‘immediate supervision’’.

Minister of Police Stuart Nash said the gun seller advocated the safe use of firearms, including air rifles. ‘‘I urge responsible ownership and support anything that promotes gun safety.’’

In 2015, Minister of Education Chris Hipkins said gun advertising should be regulated in similar ways to tobacco after there had been a spate of shootings.

He labelled a Gun City billboard in the Lower hutt suburb of Taita ‘‘disgusting’’ and said New Zealand did not need and ‘‘American-style gun culture’’.

The Advertising Standards Authority has received complaints about Gun City’s advertising or billboards but was unable to comment on this pamphlet.