Firearms part of auction at school

An arsenal of high-powered weapons, including fully automatic machineguns, is going on sale in a Wellington secondary school hall this weekend.

St Patrick’s College in Kilbirnie is due to host the two-day auction, featuring a battery of firearms including AR-15 semi-automatic rifles.

Las Vegas gunman Stephen Paddock, who killed 59 people and wounded hundreds of others on October 1, had an AR-15-type rifle among his weapons.

The Militaria Auction is organised by Ted Rogers, who said when questioned about the suitability of selling weapons in a school hall, that coverage of the topic was ‘‘just fuelling the fire’’.

He declined to comment further.

St Patrick’s rector Neal Swindells said the school had hosted the Militaria Auctions for about 25 years without incident or outcry from parents or students.

Police would be present at the auction, which took place during the school holidays.

‘‘It’s for collectors – the type of people who make models or do reenactments – the type of people who play chess.’’

Jessie Dennis, of Peace Action Wellington, said holding a gun sale in a community venue encouraged military weapons to be seen as an everyday, acceptable part of modern life.

Michael Dowling, of the Council of Licensed Firearms Owners, said only those with a strictly vetted collector’s licence could buy militarised weapons, which had to be de-activated once in their collections.

‘‘Firearms are not contagions, children aren’t going to be present – they’re not going to infect anyone.’’

The auction was ‘‘not promoting a weapons culture’’ but the interests of military collectors, who traded a wide range of memorabilia, including firearms, in a custodial tradition with the appropriate licences, he said.

New Zealand had the ‘‘best firearms legislation in the world’’ and access was restricted.

Education Ministry deputy secretary Katrina Casey said the ministry had not received any complaints about the event. Policies around the hiring of school halls were for boards of trustees to make, in compliance with relevant laws.

‘‘If this included a firearmsrelated event, they would have to comply with the Arms Act 1983 and the Arms Regulation 1992.’’