Sporting Shooters Association of New Zealand Inc.
Neville Dodd
President
www.sportingshooters.nz
Licensed firearms owners do not want to harm anyone so why is $1 Million a week being spent over-regulating us?
As a shooting community we are very conscious of firearms safety and practice it carefully and consistently because we understand firearms and the potential dangers.
That is why there are so few serious incidents involving properly vetted and licensed citizens who own and use firearms for sport and recreation.
Anyone who looks at the evidence will be aware that many more people are harmed or killed every year due to the unsafe and irresponsible use of motor vehicles than the use of firearms.
Legislation and enforcement should be beneficial but it does not appear to solve the problem of traffic violations, driver errors, collisions, injuries and deaths. Improving roading, identifying and rectifying potential hazards and encouraging better driver competence and safety would reduce the risks of being injured by people driving motor vehicles that we are all exposed to everyday.
In comparison, firearms are not a great risk because they are used less frequently, by less people and not in public places where they might endanger other people. Utilizing our scarce public resources (since we are already encumbered by national debt we cannot repay) where they can provide the most benefit for the most people is the only practical and sensible course of action for people in government to follow.
The people of New Zealand would derive vastly more benefit from improvements in health services, education, affordable housing, dealing with violent criminals, public works and road safety than imposing and trying to administer more restrictive regulations on owners and users of firearms who are very conscious of their responsibility to use their firearms safely and in places where other people are not at risk of being harmed.
The people of New Zealand do not need and will not derive any benefit from this diversion of public money and resources, from more serious issues, to the regulation of responsible firearms owners who do not want to harm them.
Our tax money, national debt and government resources are being wasted and voters should be aware and concerned about the competence and responsibility of the people in government that are wasting that resource.