Media release by ACT party
“National’s proposed firearms policy shows they’re aware of problems with the current law, but reviewing and tinkering won’t fix the issues or make up for the poor treatment licensed firearms owners have had over recent years. ACT says there needs to be completely new firearms laws,” says ACT’s Firearms Law Reform spokesperson Nicole McKee.
“National recognise some of their mistakes but like Dave Dobbyn sang “When we needed you most, you couldn’t find a language.” National wasn’t there for the licensed firearms community when Labour was pushing through rushed and reckless firearms laws.
“A review of the Arms Legislation Act isn’t necessary. The community already knows what works and what doesn’t. What’s needed are immediate changes to address safety concerns, and taking the focus away from punishing law abiding firearms owners and instead hammering criminals.
“ACT’s priority is to repeal the Arms Legislation Act and ensure that the focus is on the illegal use and ownership of firearms by criminals – this is where the real harm to our communities is occurring. We will then set about making the world’s best firearms laws.
“New Zealanders for whom firearms are a tool, a sport, an investment in history, and a way of sourcing food, have been treated unfairly with sweeping changes to firearms laws and the confiscation of private property. ACT was the only party to vote against these law changes.
“Firearm owners have long memories, National failed this group while ACT has always supported the quarter million fit and proper, responsible people with good policy and by advocating for good laws. Only ACT has consistently supported the firearms community and spoken out against rushed, poor-quality law making.
“New Zealand should be able to say that we have the world’s best firearms laws. To achieve this there needs to be real change, with a strong ACT presence in the next Government. We have the track record of promoting practical solutions for licensed firearm owners and speaking up against poor lawmaking.
“ACT is here to make a difference and bring about real change. We are proud to stand up for New Zealand’s law-abiding firearms community.”
Nicole McKee -” What’s needed are immediate changes to address
safety concerns, and taking the focus away from punishing law-abiding
firearms owners and instead hammering criminals.”
Well, following the 2019 Mosque shooting by an Australian terrorist, ACT was the only party with common-sense. All the others rushed like chooks with their heads cut ff to hammer the law abiding firearm owning public. ACT remained cool-headed and sensible.
Totally agree with the other parties comments.
National is just tinkering and pandering to get votes as stated by Labour.
ACT is the only party that has constantly stood up for the firearm community as stated by Nicole Mckee from ACT
I certainly know who will be getting my vote but they had better not Winnie it and do a deal to form a Govt reneging on the people that voted for them just to get into power
It will be interesting to see what ACT finalises on, the gun fights between gangs are a huge issue so clearly Adern’s rushed response was a disaster the only effect of which was to get the backs up of fit and proper gun licence holders. The explosion in feral goat numbers that you see first hand in the back country indicates a real need for semi-autos but how best to regulate and control that?
Seems I will be a first time Act Party voter
Nicole is a real person with integrity and intelligence.
She is honest, brave and concerned about people being treated fair and reasonably on the basis of objective evidence rather than prejudiced opinions.
How such a fine person ever ended up in our government seriously puzzles me.
We LFOs and other members of the Outdoors Community are fortunate t0 have Nicole to represent us in our government.
We are a community of well over 1 MILLION voting citizens that welcomes and includes anyone else who would like to enjoy outdoors activities. Our respect and appreciation of nature and our huam heritage unites us in spite of our many other differences.
We hunt, fish, tramp, camp use firearms and enjoy outdoors activities without haming anyone else ot their property.
We are doing what is an integral and important aspect of our culture, heitage and the traditions of our respected ancestors. We are doing what is inherited in our ancestral DNA.
We have no reason to accept and guilt, shame or need to explain and justify ourselves and what we do to anyone else.
We deserve to be PROUD AND RESPECTED instead of criticized, vilified, discriminated against and even criminalized for preserving what is an important part of our human culture and heritage.
Unfortunately, our culture, heritage, traditions and access to the activities we enjoy have been increasingly threatened for many years and this is becoming a crisis that compels us to become more united and politically active to protect ourselves from prejudice, discrimination and criminalization by the “evil doers” that dislike us and what we do.
We might dislike it but we must become more politically aware and active to protect what we value from being taken from us.
Fortunately we have the help of Nicole and other people in the ACT party to represent us fairly in our government if we help them to get enough votes to do so.
This election is very serious.
It can be win-win for ACT and the Outdoors Community or Lose-Lose if too few of us accept the responsibility to become involved and help.
What was wrong with the old laws?
Until Ardern and her committee messed around with our gun laws in order to save money, something which was arguably responsible for the police failing to do their job properly and issuing the Australian terrorist his licence, New Zealand had the best, most effective and cost effective system of civilian firearms regulation in the world. That Ardern and the politicized police sought to make lawful, licenced sporting shooters the scapegoats for their failure is not something the quarter million gun owners of this country will quickly forget. I suspect that ACT will be picking up a lot more votes from shooters this time around, shooters who are absolutely fed up and no longer trust the police and government.
Allowing a know-nothing fish and chip shop girl who had been brainwashed by the evil Tony Blair and his pal Klaus Schwab anywhere near a committee considering changing our firearms legislation was, with hindsight, a disaster waiting to happen. And it did.