The Government plans to rewrite gun laws as part of its firearms reforms by 2026.
Shane Te Pou(Ngāi Tūhoe) is a commentator, blogger and former Labour Party activist.
OPINION
I’m sure, like me, you remember the moment you heard about the terrorist attack in Christchurch on March 15, 2019. Reliving the horror of that day, it’s hardto believe the Government is looking to undo the firearms laws that were passed to make sure such a thing could not happen again.
A lone attacker killed 51 of our fellow New Zealanders and wounded another 40 as they prayed. In the aftermath, our shocked nation had so many questions - why did this pathetic excuse for a human being do this? The “how” was clearer - he was able to destroy so many lives so quickly because of the AR-15 semi-automatic rifle he had bought and owned legally.
The AR-15 (gun nuts think it’s very important you know the AR stands for ArmaLite, the original designers, not assault rifle) is the “non-military” version of the M-16 assault rifle used by armies around the world.
The main difference is you have to pull the trigger for each bullet, up to 60 rounds a minute. Used in massacres from Christchurch to Port Arthur to endless attacks in the US, an AR-15 style rifle transforms a lone loser into a bringer of mass death.
Just two days after the Christchurch massacre, gun lobbyist nowCabinet Minister Nicole McKee was publicly fighting against any ban on AR-15s and similar weapons, saying “we have them for sporting uses”. She continued to fight hard for an exemption to the ban for “sport” as the law change went through Parliament in a vote of 119 to one.
Of course, the ban on AR-15-style guns is not a ban on all guns - people can still shoot for sport with rifles, shotguns and pistols if they have the right licences. But Associate Minister of Justice (Firearms) McKee wants the AR-15s back, even though they aren’t designed for sport, they’re designed for killing people - lots of people, all at once.
Perhaps, if she wants a sport to enjoy, McKee could take up chess, rather than demanding the right to own a weapon designed for killing humans because it’s “fun” to shoot it. After all, the Christchurch terrorist bought his AR-15s legally, was a licensed owner, and he had only used it for “sport” as a member of a gun club until that awful day.
Since the ban, McKee has relentlessly fought for these weapons of mass murder to be made legal again. Act leader David Seymour (the one in that 119 to one vote) shoulder-tapped her to become a candidate for his party in an effort to win votes from gun owners. When she became an MP, she spent a full third of her maiden speech talking about guns. It was the only policy area she mentioned.
"An AR-15 style rifle transforms a lone loser into a bringer of mass death." Photo / NZ Police
In this obsession with putting mass killing machines in the hands of more people, McKee is completely out of step with New Zealand.
When the ban was passed, a poll showed just 14% of people said it went too far.
You would think someone so fixated on legalising the most dangerous weapons, someone so out of step with what most Kiwis think, would be a poor choice to put in charge of firearms law.
But Christopher Luxon did it anyway. He made her Associate Minister of Justice and, in his usual style with his ministers, seems to be exercising bugger-all oversight of what she’s up to.
It’s clear McKee wants as little public attention as possible on her work to change Aotearoa’s firearms legislation.
Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee was the spokesperson for the Council of Licenced Firearms Owners before entering Parliament. Photo / Mark Mitchell
When asked questions about her plans relating to AR-15 style guns in Parliament, McKee deflects by focusing on technicalities about rim and centre-fire guns. She excluded the Police Association from her “consultation” on removing Government oversight of rifle clubs, and tried to remove police criticism of that from her Cabinet paper.
Despite Luxon’s promises of “no new guns”, it’s clear to me McKee is pursuing an agenda to ultimately bring back AR-15-style weapons.
Despite calls for McKee to be sacked, the Prime Minister has done nothing to bring her into line.
I’m afraid we are going to wake up one morning soon to a sudden announcement that the Government has decided to legalise the mass killer’s weapon of choice once again, based solely on McKee’s secret conversations with her fellow gun nuts and Luxon’s weak inability to control his coalition partners’ ministers.
It would be a betrayal of the public and, especially, our Muslim brothers and sisters. But, if Judith Collins’ disgraceful and disrespectful out-of-the-blue announcement that the Government has scrapped work on fulfilling the recommendations of the Terror Attack Royal Commission is anything to go by, we have no reason to expect they won’t do the same with firearms controls.
No, relying on Luxon to grow a backbone isn’t the way to go. Instead, we need to look to Winston Peters.
On March 15, 2019, as now, Peters was Deputy Prime Minister. He lamented at the time that we hadn’t followed Australia in banning these weapons following Port Arthur, before it was too late. Now, he can use his veto to put an end to McKee’s AR-15 agenda.
