Communities fire shots at proposed Gun Law changes

Venkat Raman
Auckland, July 21, 2024

Several community groups came together on Saturday (July 20, 2024) in Auckland to take shots at the Coalition Government’s proposed changes to Gun Laws, saying that any move to ease the sale and purchase of arms will undermine safety.

The meeting, held at Bishop Selwyn Chapel in Parnell, Auckland City was an initiative of former Minister and MP Michael Wood, supported by the Federation of Islamic Associations of New Zealand (FIANZ) and a cross-section of ethnic communities.

Honouring the March 15 Victims”

Among the speakers were Mr Wood, FIANZ representative, FIANZ President Ibrar Sheikh, Abdul Razzaq, former Police Minister and current Labour Party Police Spokesperson Ginny Anderson, New Zealand Police Association President Chris Cahill, Gun Control NZ Co-Founder Philippa Yasbek, Islamic Women’s Council Founding Member Anjum Rahman, Auckland City Councillor (Maungakiekie-Tamaki Ward) Josephine Bartley and Al Noor Mosque (Christchurch) Imam Gamal Fouda and representatives of different faiths.

The speakers expressed concern over the proposals of the Associate Justice Minister to increase access to prohibited semi-automatic firearms.

They called on the government to honour the memory of the victims of Christchurch and rule out weakening the ban on these weapons of war.

The terrorist attacks on March 15, 2019 which left 51 Muslims, including women and children dead and many others injured were the focus of the meeting.

ACT Party’s Proposals

The ACT Party campaigned on its promise to rewrite the Arms Act 1983 to provide for greater protection of public safety and simplify regulatory requirements to improve compliance and pass it through all stages during this term of Parliament.

The Party also said during its 2023 election campaign to transfer responsibility for the Arms Act 1983, policy and regulation to the Ministry of Justice, and transfer the Firearms Safety Authority, administrator of the Act, to another department such as the Department of Internal Affairs.

Following the election, the Coalition Agreement between ACT and National included a review of the Firearms Registry and its use in improving public safety and the repeal and replacement of Part 6 of the Arms Act relating to shooting clubs and ranges.

ACT’s firearms policy said the Labour-led government’s Gun Laws had punished licensed firearms owners and burdened shooting clubs and ranges.

But Gun Control NZ and speakers at the Parnell gathering were not convinced.

Risk to communities

Mr Wood said that it was unconscionable that these weapons of war could be made more available in our communities to allow a small number of people to simulate being soldiers in fantasy combat situations.

“Any increase in the availability of prohibited semi-automatic firearms increases the risk to our communities,” he said.

Mr Razzaq, who was the Chairperson of FIANZ Royal Commission Submission, said that the brutal murder of 51 innocent worshippers and the attempted murder of another 40 in the Al Noor and Linwood Mosques in Christchurch demonstrated the ruthless killing power of semi-automatic guns.

“These are specifically designed for military combat killing and should have no place in civilian usage. The March 15 terror attack unified our nation in aroha, and 119 MPs, across political lines, agreed to ban these weapons of war. This ban was the first of many pivotal lessons learned so that our nation never again experiences such senseless mass killings. It is sad to see a gun-lobby politician has forgotten this tragedy and is disrespecting the shahada and those wounded by bullets,” he said and labelled the coalition government as ‘arrogant and unconcerned of people’s safety.’

Imam Gamal recalled his shuddering experience at Al Noor Mosque when the assassin ruthlessly used his semi-automatic weapon to unleash terror on Muslims who were offering their Friday Prayers.

The day the Nation cried

Calling March 19 as ‘Shaking off the Day of Judgment,’ he said that he heard people saying their last words and believed that he was about to die.

“That day changed me and it changed New Zealand forever. It disturbs me that we now have to persuade our government to keep semi-automatic weapons out of the hands of the public. If we had learnt anything from that day, we would not be discussing this topic again,” he said.

According to Ms Yasbek, the Associate Minister of Justice represented a fringe view.

“She used to be a gun lobbyist. She advised the government against making law changes in 2017 that would have prevented the Christchurch terror attacks. We are pleased that the Prime Minister has said that no decisions have been made yet. We urge him to remember March 15 and rule out any changes that would put more of these dangerous weapons in our communities,” she said.

Later, representatives of the Hindu, Sikh, Jewish, Christian and Muslim communities recited verses from their faiths underscoring peace, harmony and religious tolerance.

A majority of the guests attending the meeting signed a Petition calling on the government not to proceed with the amendments to the gun laws.