A lively crowd of nearly 100 registered firearms holders turned up to Saxton park clubrooms to help the police gather feedback and ideas on current firearms licensing and procedures. The police representative and coordinator of the NZ wide roadshow, Mike McIlraith, says that the goal is to have the world’s safest country when it comes to gun ownership. The meetings have been set up nationwide where the ideas and feedback will be collated and, where warranted, implemented into the firearms procedures, with one of the targets being to keep firearms out of criminal hands.
Mike says that while the act won’t change, the police need to introduce ways to more accurately and quickly gather relevant information about guns and ownership. He also acknowledged that smaller communities have a greater level of difficulty in participating with firearms law, mostly due to the isolation, and that the feedback so far had given the police some good ideas. The main areas of concern to the local audience were training, safety, communication from the police and the public’s perception about guns. The audience had a cross-section of not only weekend hunters but retailers, collectors and sportspeople. The police acknowledged that one of the major areas was awareness of what guns are owned by which people. While 30 years ago this was known by the police, currently the police have no idea as to an individual’s gun collection or the number owned.
Mike McIlraith says this would require an act change and at this stage he thought it unlikely to happen. The crowd acknowledged the effort the police were going to and the mood at the end of the meeting was very positive from both parties. The meetings continue around the country.
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