New gun law bill will reduce violence

MEDIA RELEASE

New gun law proposals will reduce gun violence, says Gun Control NZ.

Gun Control NZ strongly welcomes the comprehensive gun law reform bill and calls on all political parties to support it. Gun Control NZ encourages New Zealanders to let their MPs know they support this Bill, submit to the Select Committee, and express their support in the coming months.

“The measure in this gun law bill, including universal gun registration and shorter firearms license periods, are just common sense. We all have to register our cars and our dogs, so gun owners should have to register their guns. We all have to accept regulation in order to make New Zealand safer,” says Gun Control NZ co-founder Hera Cook.

“Introducing a gun register is particularly important,” says co-founder Nik Green. “Registers encourage gun owners to take greater care with their guns, they help police solve gun crimes and enable greater restrictions on access to guns by those who are unfit to hold a license.”

“Yesterday, National party Police spokesperson Brett Hudson, appeared to acknowledge the value of a register when he asked Police for information about the exact numbers of particular firearms owned by New Zealanders.” says Nik Green.

“Parliament must have the courage to improve our firearms regulations now. Let’s not wait for another major tragedy and yet another expert report highlighting the failures in our regulatory systems. There was Aramoana with 13 deaths, and Port Arthur with 35 deaths, did we really have to wait for 51 deaths in Christchurch?” says Hera Cook.

“These reforms demand broad support from across Parliament. New Zealand can’t afford political game playing with these laws. Too many previous attempts to create sensible gun laws have failed. This time has to be different. New Zealanders are entitled to live and bring up their children in a safe, peaceful country. We owe it to all victims of gun violence, their families and loved ones to get this right,” says Hera Cook.