New New Zealand Gun Law

[Bill D]

I can’t help but feel terrible for NZ firearms owners. Think about how we would feel if that happened here. BUT it can happen here if we aren’t very vigilant. This should serve as an impetus to get out and fight to elect congress critters who will protect our 2A rights. Personally, I don’t give a $hit about seeing Trumps tax returns - I care a hell of a lot more about his appointment of pro 2A judges.

JMO

[Sandpebble]

I've attended my local rifle range ... wherever I have lived ... pretty consistently for decades.

Over those decades many massacres have taken place . Massacres that involved the use of firearms.

At those rifle ranges I've attended I'm a bit embarrassed to mention that after each and every massacre no one ever mentioned the victims.... ever.

Just like this thread the discussion is only about... our rights .... the most important thing on earth .....

Maybe those rights are the most important thing on earth ...... but recognition of the victims would do none of us any harm......

know what I mean ?

[Bill D]

It really goes without saying that most if not all of feel hurt for the families of these victims. These are terrible happenings that just shouldn’t happen but happen, they do. Now the families want revenge on all gun owners, not just the perps that do these terrible things. I feel that we can feel sympathy for these families without rolling over and surrendering our firearms to the government.

JMO

[Sandpebble]

But that is exactly my point Bill ...... " It goes without saying "

A ccuse a victims family of having a knee jerk reaction to firearms.... and we've doubled down on the effort to ban them.

Start attempting to understand the others sides dislike of them and we are half way to solving the problem

[S.A. Boggs]

People often feel that "something" should have/could have been done to stop this from happening. Reality is very little could have been done from someone bent on destructive behavior. People have to realize that the user is the weapon, all else are simply tools that were used. I have dealt with many victims of violence, a great deal of it unfortunately. The connecting dot is "why" and prevention for future occurrence. The latter statement is the first step to a police state and the decrease in personal freedom. A police state is a controlled atmosphere where rights are granted and freedom is withdrawn. The murder in NZ was wrong, the attack on the users of legal firearms is also wrong. Now will two wrongs make a right? A free society will have some misfits who do wrong, does society turn on itself and look at all as misfits in need of total government control by a few?
Sam

[Bill D]

I do understand the victim’s families viewpoint. I understand it but I don’t agree with it. As a liberal who is also a firearms owner/user, you must straddle a fine line. You have to be completely in agreement with the liberal point of view (thinking with your heart) while hating to see your rights trampled on by misdirected grief. The conservative side of it is (thinking with your head) exactly what Sam said. It was the individual that was evil. The firearm was just one of many available tools to accomplish the deed. Why is it wrong to mobilize in response to a knee jerk reaction?

JMO

[blackhawknj]

If 50 or 100 new Zeelanders had died in a bus crash or a boat sinking.......?

[Bill D]

Simple!
Round up all buses or boats and destroy them.

JMO

[Griff Murphey]

In the past they had been licensing M-1 Garands as regular sporting rifles if the bayonet lug was cut off and if the shooter never used an 8 round en bloc. Obviously that part was on the honor system. There may be a chance some "bona fide collectors" may bee able to save a few of the historic guns but that may be a faint hope. If so they would be under the same regs as their highest regulated guns; the full autos (which I have not heard what they are doing about those) which are allowed to be owned, live, but may not be shot. An M-1 that still had the bayonet lug was the next license level up. The Carbines are definitely toast.

I also understand the shooters are experiencing new random police presence at the ranges. It's definitely a judgmental decision to cast the 250,000 NZ legal gun owners as villains when in fact they are victims of the crime themselves. Maybe the loss of a hobby is not comparable with the loss of human life but I still call the gun owners victims.

They are still shooting their bolt actions in matches.

[barretcreek]

The Kiwis understand these a-holes want publicity and refuse to give it to them. Their faces are obscured, names unmentioned and the press isn't running a contest to rank their body count. That would go a long way to putting a damper on these guys here. LSM has made ARs the 'must have' weapon for mass murder.