New Zealanders Not Complying With Gun Ban
Russ Chastain 07.08.19
Citizens of New Zealand are reportedly resisting the sweeping ban on semi-automatic firearms thrust upon them by an emotional parliament last April.
The Washington Post’s article is predictably poorly-titled: “New Zealand is trying to buy back the military-style weapons it banned in April. It’s not so easy.”
Firstly, no entity can buy “back” something which it never owned before. The government has never owned these firearms which it seeks to steal from their rightful owners. They are merely offering a bribe to those who comply.
Secondly, none of the guns are “military-style.” Being black and shaped similarly to military firearms doesn’t make a semi-auto rifle or shotgun “military-style.”
Now the good news: New Zealanders are not complying. There are an estimated “1.2 million to 1.5 million firearms in New Zealand,” yet only “about 700 firearms have been voluntarily surrendered.”
More good news: There’s no registry of semi-auto firearms in NZ, so door-to-door armed thefts of such firearms can’t be done.
Pro-gun groups plan to challenge the ban in court.
The Council of Licensed Firearms Owners, New Zealand’s leading gun lobby, announced recently that it intends to challenge the buyback program through the courts.
Nicole McKee, the group’s secretary, said the plan is “to take legal action, likely to be by way of a class action.”
In a separate case, gun collector David Craze Sr., who is also a hunter and competition shooter, said he is considering a lawsuit seeking proper compensation for what he described as “property confiscation.”
Under the government’s buyback program, he would receive about 30 percent of the actual value of his collection of dozens of firearms, amassed over 50 years, he said.
He had intended to sell some of the firearms as part of his retirement plan, he said, describing his collection as an “investment.”
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The government has set the buyback value at 95 percent of the estimated base price for new or nearly new firearms. The amount is less for weapons in poorer condition.
There has been no indication from officials that the compensation rates will be increased, and an amnesty period expires Dec. 20.
The government is talking softly at the moment, but with the December deadline looming, there are hints they will consider using the violence of law enforcement agencies against citizens.
“We urge people to stay calm,” Mike Clement, New Zealand Police’s deputy commissioner of national operations, told The Washington Post.
“We acknowledge that you’re a law-abiding citizen and through no fault of your own you now find yourself in possession of firearms that are now illegal,” he said, but he noted that once the amnesty period expires, there is no excuse for holding on to weapons.
Personally, I fully support New Zealand’s gun owners who resist this theft of their rights and property, and I sincerely hope no more of them comply with the oppressive ban. I’m probably being overly optimistic, but as they say, ‘Hope springs eternal.’
Good on ya, Kiwis.
