Two Current Investigations Will Change Our Gun Laws:

 Radio New Zealand is today reporting that The NZ Firearms Review is likely to lead to law changes.

An internal review of how the police administer and monitor firearms is likely to lead to changes in the law, including allowing people to apply for a gun licence online.  ??  Didn't a TV3 'journalist' recently repeatedly forge signatures and licence numbers to illegally obtain a rifle?

The review was being carried out in parallel to the Parliamentary Select Committee Inquiry into illegal gun possession following the shooting of four police officers in Kawerau and the discovery of un-licenced firearms in an Auckland 'drugs raid' earlier this year.

Police national manager for police response and operations Superintendent Chris Scahill said the Firearms Review Project would not report its findings until next year.

More than 1.2 million firearms are thought to be currently held by about 250,000 licensed firearms holders.

"This is a massive project for us and we will deliver conclusions of the review in 2017 but we will also be putting up a number of suggested modifications or improvements to the Arms Act," Mr Scahill said.

One of the suggestions the police would be making was to encourage more people to apply for a firearms licence online using the government's secure login service RealMe.

"We would be encouraging and incorporating that process into our licensing system so that people are not having to fill out manual forms, and manual forms are not being processed, so we have a full electronic end to end solution," Mr Scahill said.. Sounds like cost cutting to me.

The Police Association believed both the Parliamentary inquiry and the police internal review would find that more funding was needed to administer and monitor firearm use.

Police Association president Greg O'Connor said monitoring of firearms had been underfunded and not given enough priority for years.

"The policing of the whole Arms Act, the whole arms industry by police has been under-resourced and under-focused for some time.

"I would be very surprised if the recommendations coming out of both the select committee and the internal review don't result in recommendations for more resource" Mr O'Connor said.

Superintendent Scahill disagreed the current system was underfunded.

"We have had, in general, a largely fit for purpose administration framework and if I compare us to other countries around the world I think we stand pretty well," he said.

"Is there opportunity for improvement? Of course there is. We continuously try to improve what we're doing but largely, I do believe the framework is fit for purpose and particularly with that focus on ensuring that fit and proper persons obtain licenses."

- Stand by for a 'double hit' calling for higher costs, more expensive home security (- to keep out the crooks) and more restrictions and more licence rules for law abiding shooters.

Have you joined COLFO and/or Sporting Shooters New Zealand ?  Did you get your club to sign-up as a supporting member organisation ?

Are you ready for all semi-auto rifles including .22"s to be classified as Restricted E-Cat Weapons ? - Have you got $1,000 plus ready to buy and install a certified E-Cat safe in your home to police regulations?

NZ POLICE RECORDS SAY THAT LESS THAN 0.5% OF TOTAL CRIME IN NZ OVER THE LAST FIVE YEARS INVOLVED FIREARMS. - PUT ANOTHER WAY .. MORE THAN 99.5% of NZ CRIME DOES NOT INVOLVE GUNS.

- Can you define the term 'An Oppressed Minority' ?

Marty K.