Gun problem has ‘bolted’

There has been a significant increase in demand for AR-15 semi-automatic weapons in Timaru in the aftermath of Friday’s killing of 50 people in Christchurch.

Gun City Timaru manager Wayne Golightly said the shop sold out of the weapons a day after the killings.

Golightly said the shop, which operates independently of the Gun City outlet in Christchurch, didn’t have any of the weapons left in stock, adding it was unlikely it would get any AR-15 model guns stock ever again.

‘‘We won’t get anymore, I don’t think we will see them again.’’

Golightly raised questions in terms of proposed gun law changes, asking what the Government can in fact do ‘‘with the 15,000 AR15s that are already on the street’’.

‘‘It could be a lot more, that’s a conservative number, no one knows, these guns have been sold in New Zealand for at least 10 years and they are big sellers.

‘‘How is the Government going to get them all back.’’

The Government is now investigating a ban on semiautomatic weapons along with a buy-back scheme and a potential firearms register.

Finance Minister Grant Robertson said yesterday he had sought advice on the cost of a buyback scheme.

‘‘The problem is how do you get them off the street?’’ Golightly asked.

‘‘There are an estimated 1.2 million guns in New Zealand and at least 600,000 are semi automatic weapons.’’

Golightly said it could potentially cost the Government at least $60 million if it was to agree to buy back the weapons.

‘‘The horse has bolted as there are so many guns out there.’’

Setting up a gun registry was also a waste of time, he said.

‘‘There needs to be some rational thing around this rather than emotional thinking.

‘‘It’s a very sad time for the country and for the victims and their families, and for every New Zealander.

‘‘The world as we knew it changed completely on March 15, 2019. We are in a different world now, there has to be some changes.’’

Golightly asked what the implications would be for responsible gun owners. ‘‘The logistics of what they want to propose is fraught with dangers, it’s going to be hard for them to have effective legislation to achieve the goals that they are trying to achieve as stated by the prime minister in the past few days.

‘‘It doesn’t matter how many guns you have, they do get stolen.’’

At Gun City Timaru, staff recorded gun licence details at the point of purchase, he said.

Golightly said all gun licence holders should have E-Cat (E category) safes. ‘‘What I would advocate is that all firearms are kept in them. An A-Cat safe doesn’t give significant protection from a burglar.’’

He estimated 800 guns were stolen each year in New Zealand, primarily from A-Cat safes.

‘‘I reckon it could cost as much as $1 billion to buy back all the guns.’’

What politicians were now trying to achieve was ‘‘complicated’’, he said. ‘‘It’s easy to say we are going to ban things but the practicality is far from an easy fix because it is massively difficult.’’