Owning a firearm ‘a privilege’

The Government says new rules to tighten up New Zealand’s gun laws will prevent the flow of guns into the black market.

Legislation will now confirm that owning a firearm is a privilege, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said.

Yesterday, Ardern and Police Minister Stuart Nash announced the Government was taking steps to ensure gun ownership was restricted to responsible users and stop the black market trade of guns, at an event in Christchurch that marked six months since the terror attack.

It follows criticism from the National Party, which last month saw a leaked early draft of the bill and revealed it was unlikely to support it because it hit law-abiding firearms owners the hardest, rather than gangs and genuine criminals.

The new laws will include an online, self-service firearms registry.

It will also see new offences and harsher penalties and the firearms licence period shortened from 10 years to five, which will also be required to buy firearm parts, magazines, and ammunition. The range of activities for which a dealer’s licence will be required will also be broadened.

A new system of warning flags will be set up to show if a person may not be a fit to hold a firearms licence.

Health practitioners will also be able notify police if they have concerns about a licenced firearms owner’s health or wellbeing and a licensing regime for shooting clubs and ranges would be created.

A Police Commissioner’s Firearms Advisory Group will also be set up to ensure the gun laws are enforced.

In April, the Government took action to remove military style semiautomatics to ensure communities were as protected as they can be from the potential for another attack like March 15, Ardern said.

Now the new laws would prevent firearms from reaching the hands of criminals, she said.

Every person found guilty of selling or supplying a firearm to an unlicensed person was liable for a term of imprisonment not exceeding three months or a fine of $1000. The bill would increase those penalties to two years and $20,000, respectively.

It will also be a new offence to provide information to the registry known to be false or misleading.

The Arms Legislation Bill will be introduced to Parliament this coming Friday.