tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2830084253401570472.post2377382642326805843..comments2024-03-28T09:22:36.967+13:00Comments on Offsetting Behaviour: Firearms law in New ZealandEric Cramptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15831696523324469713noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2830084253401570472.post-40534216670217080672010-07-11T21:21:36.212+12:002010-07-11T21:21:36.212+12:00I'd be interested to know if the change from g...I'd be interested to know if the change from granting lifetime firearms licenses to making you reapply for them every 10 years has made any difference to anything, as it must be quite an expensive exercise. The initial test that you sit to get the licence ensures that you have a basic idea of firearms safety, which is all good, but after that I really wonder about the benefits. Even if the firearms officer (who in my experience is always a pleasant but take-no-bullshit sort of old cop) got a bad feeling about you, could they actually do anything about it if you provided the referees etc? Eb Leary managed to get plenty of high status professional people to say good things about him, and my sister, who was a detective, watched in court once as an MP gave a character reference to someone she knew was a paedophile.<br /><br />It doesn't seem to me that NZ has what you would call a gun culture. If it really did no one would be daring to suggest that firearms should be licensed. Many urban people are not sympathetic to the use of firearms (but maybe they tend to be Labour voters anyway). My suspicion is that expanding controls surrounding firearms users and their firearms is yet another expensive exercise that will affect only the law abiding. I've just looked at Paul Walker's blog and it occurs to me that this may be a classic example of the state using fear to take away liberties in the name of safety. Having said that, I don't have a problem with genuine trade-offs between liberty and safety, but I suspect that here we are talking about a loss of liberty traded for no extra safety.<br /><br />I must say I am a little disbelieving that anyone actually gets anything out of being “officially deemed 'fit and proper.'”dragonflynoreply@blogger.com