Kiwi Gun Blog

Protecting Responsible Firearms Ownership in New Zealand

Thousands of Expired Licenses Go Unchecked

The Kiwi Gun Blog are following up on just how many licensed shooters have been allowed to lapse.

Both under the old system and the new.

It was the very last day legally allowed for the Police to respond to a Freedom of Information Act request so….. they answered SOME of the questions.

It turns out that….

Thousands of Shooters Have Lapsed Licenses – With No Police Action Taken

As of the 27th of February 2017, 6727 licenses are shown as currently expired.

2455 of these are in the process of being renewed.

Now 4272 remain….

Of those 2243 are shown as ‘Being actively sought for interview’.

We assume that means that a policeman left a message somewhere.

2029 are ‘Awaiting action’.

I’m using that line the next time my girlfriend demands to know why the garage has not been cleaned out.

“It is ‘Awaiting action’ my love”…

What is the Point?

Many on the left and of course the Police Association are calling for the ten year renewal to be made five years, or less.

Some even call for an annual renewal. Anything to price and inconvenience shooters out of their sport.

Meanwhile they are not even following up on the existing system.

THIS is another example of why we need a Police Arms Oversight Authority.

If shooters are not re-licensing it is certainly worth a quick call to check that the weapons have been disposed of safely.

Perhaps use the money that Police will otherwise waste on lawyers fighting us in court to hire more staff for this purpose?

What was the point of Parliament breaking their word with the lifetime gun licence if they are just going to let so many – THOUSANDS – now expire without care?

What a tax grabbing joke.

Surely it was only ever just another impediment in the way of a kiwi keeping guns and enjoying their sport.

The Blog are guessing that many of these cases are simply young kiwis with no money for the pantomime of re-licencing.

But other cases could be a concern.

An Extra Disincentive

The Kiwi Gun Blog called an arms office to confirm this today – It costs $126.50 for a gun licence and $241.50 to renew an expired license.

The Kiwi Gun Blog suggests that it is mad to punish people for following the law, ever. If you want to incentivise shooters to be on time – give them some ammo.

Don’t kick people financially, when they are often down, with an extra one hundred and fifteen dollars.

Surely an amnesty on this penalty would be a great start.

Mike Bush, the Police Commissioner, suggested an amnesty for guns for the guns of criminals. It was quickly laughed out by frontline Police.

But how about extending this to once legal shooters?

The Kiwi Gun Blog has now suggested the idea to him. Fingers crossed.

It would certainly save hundreds of hours of police time if shooters were coming to THEM.

Why?

It would be good to know WHY shooters are not renewing.

We have asked Police if they have investigated such causes. Stay tuned.

The Final Joke

So the Law and Order committee looking into how criminals get guns is about to report back.

The Police Association are pushing to punish lawful shooters in a myriad of new and useless ways and meanwhile they have THOUSANDS of illegal arms owners just floating about.

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David Grey perpetrated the atrocity that first started this legislation madness. 

He was left to escalate his behavior – even after Police were told that he had entered a shop and threatened people with a gun. There were other similar incidents.

The Kiwi Gun Blog must look into that case with fresh eyes. It is overdue and the history here can’t afford to be lost. The Kiwi Gun Blog have asked Police for more information about this case.

But it demonstrates the last of the triple threat of Police incompetence. Firstly, not vetting applicants properly prior to issues a license. Then not managing the systems they currently have and finally not responding to public reports of threats.

Then in every case of disaster resulting – scapegoating shooters rights with draconian law changes to hide their failings.

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The Jan Molenaar Case

In 2009 the NZ Herald wrote:

“A law change could help mop up 30,000 owners yet to be checked (out of 55,000) who didn’t renew when 10-year licences replaced lifetime licences.

Jan Molenaar, who in May shot dead senior constable Len Snee, was among the 30,000 not checked”.

Ah.

Way to learn from your mistakes guys.

Stay tuned for the current figures. The Kiwi Gun Blog is guessing that they will be a shocker.

  Please stay legal guys – keep your licence current.

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The Kiwi Gun Blog

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8 responses to “Thousands of Expired Licenses Go Unchecked”

  1. Doug Avatar
    Doug

    The best way out is to reinstate the Life Time Licence – after all shurely any unfit and unproper transgression by a Licence holder “comes to the attention” of Police whether the licence is one day, one year – or twenty five years old – dosen’t it?

    Besides which Police have far better things to do than simply check upon fit & proper persons – at ten yearly intervals.

    Ah! BUT it is the FUNDING (half of which gets siphoned off for other Police business anyhow – it seems).

    If ‘society’ wants all this checking done – let the Tax base pay – not the persons the checking it is forced upon … by ‘society’!

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    1. The Kiwi Gun Blog Avatar
      The Kiwi Gun Blog

      Exactly. We are investigating the money situation now.

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  2. Colpepper. Avatar
    Colpepper.

    $126-50 for a firearms license and $241-50 to RENEW an expired license??????
    An increase of near 47%, for what????? Could one not then argue that they were applying for a NEW firearm license as opposed to a RENEWAL of an expired license, thereby saving $115-00.

    You are correct when you say “it is mad to penalise people attempting to comply with law”, and it would be interesting to find out WHY so many license holders are not renewing. Possibly, it is thought that non-renewal then releases the individual from the legal obligation of ‘Being a Fit & Proper Person’.

    Obviously, it is in the communities interest for Police to enquire as to the reasons for non-renewal of individual licenses. Non-renewal of license does not necessarily mean disposal of firearms held.

    On the Aramoana tragedy, it is our belief that David Gray was the subject of THREE seperate complaints to Police regarding his threats of violence, but none of the complaints were actioned.
    Although admittedly anecdotal, this was relayed to us by a lovely lady who actually lived in the settlement for several years including the time of the tragedy.

    Regards.

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    1. The Kiwi Gun Blog Avatar
      The Kiwi Gun Blog

      We are currently waiting on details from the police on this. Stay tuned.

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  3. Eric Avatar
    Eric

    Still waiting for my E cat check and renewal to happen. Licence runs out the end of April. Theyve had my renewal and e cat app since 12th Jan 2017. Hope they get a wiggle on !!!

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  4. Doug Avatar
    Doug

    The Aramoana massacre was a spree shooting that occurred on 13 November 1990 which was before the ‘lifetime’ licences were revoked so Gray’s licence could not have lapsed as those licences were not revoked until after the 1992 Arms Amendment Act took force.

    The so called threat in a shop was minor – he had an air rifle with him but placed it on the floor in his pack and invited the bookshop owner outside for fisti-cuffs over disagreement about the supply of a book (Soldier of Fortune magazine) – from memory. The other two incidents were reputedly about dogs or chooks straying onto his rented property being shot if they returned – though some say he made the same threat about local children.

    The local Policeman, Guthrie, knew him and that was his downfall eventually as, I understand, he took the final problem too cheaply and was shot while trying to talk Gray into surrendering early on in the proceedings.

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    1. The Kiwi Gun Blog Avatar
      The Kiwi Gun Blog

      Thanks Doug. I seem to remember that a Policeman went around to the house of Grey and recorded that he believed he was hiding inside. Then recorded statements from his neighbors detailing bizarre behavior.

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  5. Doug Avatar
    Doug

    Also statements from the Bank where Gray strongly objected to a $2.00 Cheque cashing fee (probably his Unemployment Benefit – of which $2 would have been a significant portion in 1990) and from the Bookshop Owner/Assistant.

    Remember that there was no Criminal Trial – as Gray was shot dead by Police – but the evidence was presented at a Coronial Enquiry and reviewed the but not cross examined.

    It took a number of years to pry loose both the Coroner’s and Pathologists reports which had elements at variance with Police/Media coverage of the happenings and forensic evidence.

    NSA had an Expert Witness examine the documents which showed that only four victims could be definitively said to be shot with the “AK47” semi-automatic firearm (in reality a Norinco type 84S in .223 chambering), two were burnt so badly that no forensic evidence of shooting was recovered, a number of the others were shot with a Squires-Bingham .22LR semi-automatic firearm and for some the firearm used could not be determined.

    In NSA expert opinion the shot which killed Guthrie may well have been fired from his own Model 10 .38 Special pistol – there was Police evidence to indicate that another Officer observed this occuring through the telescopic sight of a borrowed .22LR rifle supplied by a local. He was too far away for the rabbit shooting rifle he had to be effective and it was thought after Guthrie was killed that the justification to fire (an imminent threat to life) was no longer present.

    There is MUCH more to the case – not the least of which was that at the time Police were attempting to prevent the importation of ‘semi-automatics’ and wide-spread Media reporting of this may have had an effect upon Gray due to the threatened loss of his firearms.

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