Firearms Project Community Discussion Sessions: FCAF update

[Danger Mouse]

Article in the Herald this morning.

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/a...ectid=12073599

My response to the author.

Good morning,

I am writing to you to point out several falsehoods in this article. I Realise that you are quoting police association president Chris Cahill and that you may not personally have an extensive knowledge of firearms and firearms legislation within New Zealand, but I also feel it* is important to have complete and balanced reporting. NZ firearms license holders have become increasingly frustrated over misleading comments by Mr Cahill over the last 18 months. It needs to be realized that license holders are not the issue wihin New Zelaand.


Mr cahill has repeatedly lied to New Zealand throught the media. For example, hclaims that 55,000 firearms are imported into the country every year. This is a lie. offical information act requests show that the true number is half that. When you consider that there is 250,000 license holders in new zealand, this does not equate to huge number being imported.


During the firearms select comittee that was establish to investigate how criminals are aquiring firearms, and how to prevent this, the police associations recommendations did not include any actions towards criminals. at all. Crimes with firearms in NZ frequently result in home detention. Why is crime with a deadly item not being punished severly? When questioned why Mr Cahill did not recommend greater sentences being used for firearms crime, he responded along the lines of 'becuase labour government will not do it'. NZ firearms license holders care more about police welfare in regards to firearms than the police association president!


In this article Mr cahill is essentially saying, our data is incomplete therefore firearms crime is a problem. This is completely illogical and would be a fail in statistics 101. The man is running is own anti firearms agenda and his focus of attention is the very people that are obeying the law - liecense holders.


"Surely a small country that registers its cars, boats, dogs, births, deaths and marriages can co-operate on accounting for lethal weapons – who has them, who has on-sold them, who has lost them or had them stolen." This statement is based on logical fallacies and misleading inuendo. Certain types of firearm in NZ ARE currently registered, and the registry has an alarmingly high rate of innacuracy. It has also never been audited. How can registration be carried out if the current fraction of friearms that are registered be so horribly innaccruate? What does this registration achieve? Criminals will not register their firearms before comitting a crime. police do not even place any priority of thefts of firearms from license holders, with some thefts of firearms being unattended by nz police, and in other instances the 'attendance' being a phone call.


Currently police do not data match with australia. This has resulted in deported gang members from australia being granted NZ firearms licenses by nz police. They have then gone on to purchase firearms for gangs, and Mr Cahill then attempted to blame law abiding license holders for this situation. This adversial attitude has been detrimental to police/license holder relationships within NZ.


Surely it would be more effective to enforce* current legislation more effectively and to have meaningful sentences applied to firearms crimes, before demanding change?


The license holders want to work with NZ police, but the misleading statements from people that are seen to represent the nz police such as Mr cahill are a constant source of frustration (yes I am aware that he is not an active member of nz police in his role as police association president).


Please question some of the statements that are being made on this subject, and continue to think critically. Firearms crime in this country is thankfully very low and has been declining for quite some time, despite what you have been told and quoted in this article.


For further infromation to provide balance on the subject, the website 'kiwigunblog' is a source of OIA requests that have been carried out on this subject.


Thanks for your time,