Guns Easy to Get Claim:

The latest edition of the Police Association magazine 'Police News' has a claim by President Greg O'Connor that "it has become ridiculously easy for .. criminals to get firearms".

A "pistol" used in a recent Auckland incident.

Police Commissioner Mike Bush has responded that he was " Open to discussion" on the issue but that the incidence was "very low" - at less than half a percent of crime figures over the last five years.

Radio New Zealand National Radio discussed the story on "The Panel" this afternoon with an 'expert' - but they were inconclusive as to whether there was an issue currently or was it just that journalists like the panel members were just "ramping-up figures"

- What I observe about this "claim & counter-claim" session is that there is no agreement about 'fact' and that the most opinionated comments seem to come from folk who know next to nothing about shooting, guns, or crime.  This of course doesn't seem to limit the 'uninformed' enjoying themselves by blaming "guns" for everything that goes wrong in the world up to and including global warming!

You can read the New Zealand Herald report by Anna Leask dated 5th October on line.

The comment that "any publicity is good publicity" definitely does not apply to shooting stories.

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Meanwhile - here's a few figures:

 63% of those surveyed in USA think that having a gun in the home makes them safer.

- And nearly 11m guns were made in USA in 2013 - plus there were 5m legal imports according to the BATFE. (Total new guns for the year 16 Million)  - Population of USA is 320 million.

A 2011 Small Arms Survey there says that there are 89 guns for every 100 US residents.

(Switzerland has 46 guns per 100 head of population).

Marty K.