Blain
To the Rt Hon, The Hon and all other Addressees
I am writing to you to express my concerns about the use of Orders in Council which, without notification, are criminalising law-abiding citizens, and is against the concept of natural Justice and the rule of Law.
I write to each of you as either you have been my Local MP past or present or involved in the Legislation or someone whom I have spoken to about it before.
I dislike the mass nature of this communication, but I am honestly not sure who to address this to, but can only act under the imperative of “risk management” that my employer instilled in me, that if there is something wrong with a system or process, keep raising the issue higher and higher until you find someone that will listen, as otherwise, you are morally complicit in any wrongdoing.
On the 24th of October 2019 I handed in my newly prohibited firearms and parts, as per annex one.
During this I confirmed that I was handing in all the items I needed to, to comply with the new laws.
At this time, it was confirmed that I did not need to hand in a drum magazine I possessed for a 1911 style Pistol as it was not included in the definition of 2B
So I had complied to the best of my abilities with the new Prohibitions and Laws, as that is the right thing to do.
To my shock, one day at the Pistol Club, this Order in Council was brought to my attention
Arms (Prohibited Magazine) Order 2019
This Order in Council criminalised the Magazine I had only a few weeks before had confirmed to me by the Police as being Not Prohibited.
But did I received any notification of such a change, considering that I hold a B Category Licence and the police have my email address and approved the purchase of the magazine previously? No. I received no notification and only found out about it as someone at my club mentioned it to me.
So I arranged to go to the next Collection event that work allowed, the 8th of December 2019.
When I was at this second event I was, again, told that I did not have to hand in the Drum magazine for a 1911 style Pistol as it was not included in the definition of 2B, and it took an escalation to someone calling Wellington HQ to confirm that yes indeed an Order in Council had now prohibited that item.
It was handed in but there was no category for it so it was loaded as a Centrefire Rifle Magazine as per Annex two
They also got my name wrong but this was corrected post-event, so please excuse the different surname.
This is within the month of the Amnesty ending and the information of additional CLASSES of items being prohibited had not been correctly cascaded to the staff running the Hand-in Events let alone people who could be affected.
Even today the 20th of December 2019 on the Police Website, this Order in Council is not mentioned and it is still stating
My Concerns are what happens post December 20th when more Orders in Council are issued and Law Abiding Citizens are again criminalised and given no notification.
Will our property be forfeit without compensation as per comment 22?
And will we face prosecution under the law as we are told we will be by the Right Honourable Police Minister Stuart Nash in the Media?
Mr Nash reiterated that anyone who retains their now-illegal gun after December 20 faces up to five years in jail.
Am I, as a Licenced Firearms Holder, expected to constantly monitor for new Orders in Council, lest I be criminalised again and face prosecution, fines and years in jail, and all the consequences such as the loss of job and home and the ability to get insurance and a mortgage?
Is this how a Lawful and Just country operates where her citizens do not know what is legal and what is not, one month to the next and must live in fear of prosecution if an Order in Council is issued and we are not checking the website often enough, to then throw ourselves on the mercy of the Police and Justice system, when all we are trying to do is follow the law the best we can?
This is why we have codified laws, known to all, so we don’t have situations like this; this is why in 450 BC the Romans had their laws inscribed on the Twelve tablets, as they recognised that this would protect the rights of all citizens and permit wrongs to be redressed through precisely-worded written laws known to everybody.
This is not what we have here, the rules are being changed mid-process, and will catch people out.
If this was a Corporation changing the terms and conditions of a product without notifying their customers in this way, there would be an uproar.
I know someone who has been directly involved with insurance companies and the EQC and if they tried to change the terms of their insurance policies to avoid cover, with the excuse it was on some obscure website, and they never emailed any customer to advise them of such, then I know you would not let this stand.
I know firearms law is different from services and products, but I think the analogy stands as to the fairness of the process, especially for those of us who have done the right thing and done our best to comply with the law changes. We should not be the ones who are constantly under the threat of prosecution and imprisonment due to ignorance of law changes that are not even found on the police website page that is set up to inform us of our obligations.
Many of you said you were proud to be part of this legislation and the results it has achieved, but I ask you to consider the below and ask yourself are you proud of the manner with which you have achieved your results?
Safety includes being safe from the fear of prosecution by laws in constant flux, and no one can choose to follow the law if they are not informed what the law is.