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“Gun Control NZ calls on the firearms community to reflect on how their bitter opposition to meaningful regulation of semi-automatic firearms contributed to the death of 51 innocent people” says Philippa Yasbek.
Ko tÅ tÄtou kÄinga tÄnei: Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the terrorist attack on Christchurch masjidain on 15 March 2019 acknowledges the looseness of controls on semi-automatic firearms. The report states that “the risk that a terrorist could take advantage of this was identified as long ago as 2011. But there was no significant tightening of the regime largely because of strong opposition from the firearms community.”
“The recent media reporting of a youth who planned to attack a South Island school using a semi-automatic rifle shows the wisdom of Parliament’s near-unanimous decision to ban these weapons. They are simply too dangerous to have in the community,” says Nik Green.
“The report shows the insanity of relying on a single measure – licensing of firearms owners – to prevent terror attacks and mass shootings. Instead, we need a robust system with multiple layers of protection to stop these kinds of tragedies from happening again,” says Gun Control NZ’s Philippa Yasbek.
“The Royal Commission found that the Police approach to firearms licensing did not meet the appropriate standards. These issues have mostly been addressed by the new arms legislation. A key outstanding issue is the severe under-funding of the system. The Government must increase licensing fees to reflect costs. Firearms owners should pay for their hobby, instead of relying on a taxpayer subsidy,” says Gun Control NZ co-founder Nik Green.
“We call on the Government to fully implement the new firearms law. Establishing a gun register will provide another layer of protection. It will also help stop the flow of firearms into the black market by reducing firearms thefts,” says Philippa Yasbek.
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