A funny thing happened in Wellington recently. Labour have formed an astroturf group called...wait for it...Keep Our Communities Safe...or KOCS. Did they not think that acronym through?
It is supposed to be lobbying to keep ‘military-style weapons’ off our streets. You know, like the nasty NZ Army issue SLR that I own.
Hang on a minute, how can I own it when Labour says they are banned?
Well, because they lie.
Anyway, ex-Labour MP Michael Wood is fronting this astroturf organisation that is, in reality, a sham designed to harvest emails from unsuspecting people signing their petition.
On 03 December, Ginny Andersen hosted an event at the same location that pulled their venue from hosting Avi Yemini last year. They advertised the event and were selling tickets.
Come and hear from a range of speakers about the need to keep the ban on prohibited semi-automatic firearms and what you can do to stop the Government from changing the law. Speakers (TBC) will include members of the Muslim Community, Gun Control NZ and the Hon Ginny Andersen, Opposition spokesperson for Police.
And here is where the mirth started. Some mates of mine started registering people to attend. They included:
- Paul Mauser
- Eugene Stoner
- Hiram Maxim
- John M Browning
- The Enfield family
- Mikhail Kalashnikov
- Ole Krag
- Samuel Colt
- Oliver Winchester
- Hugo Schmeisser
- John Garand
There were many more. In fact, so many from the list of firearms designers, that only about seven real people turned up, plus the speakers and MPs. Ginny Andersen posted about it on Facebook. Here are the photos of the event:
There are only six signatures on the crappy display tea towel, or was it a banner?
No wonder Greg O’Connor was looking perplexed and bored. But it rather begs the question: does Ginny Andersen actually have any mates?
I thought I’d share with you this hilarious little story that was quite the talk of a recent Christmas function for a group I belong to.
Well done fellas...what a great hijacking of a Labour grassroots group called KOCS.
But here are some questions that perhaps Ginny Andersen might like to answer:
- What is a ‘military-style weapon’?
- “For over five years, military-style semi-automatic weapons have been banned in New Zealand.” What does banned mean?
- “[R]eintroducing military-style firearms”. What does reintroducing mean?
- When someone applies for a P-Cat licence. What does this allow them to own?
- How many firearms are on the P-Cat Register?
She should know the answers to those questions, after all she was the minister who launched the Firearm Safety Authority.
But, since we know she is lying, I’ll answer so you understand why she is lying.
The Arms Act does not specify what a military-style weapon actually is. It’s not in the interpretations, nor indeed anywhere in the act. In fact, the term was repealed by the Labour Government on 12 April 2019.
Replacing the term was prohibited firearm. Which raises the question of: if they are prohibited, is anyone allowed to own them? The answer is yes, if you have a P1 – Pest Control – Prohibited firearm, P3 – Dealer – Prohibited firearm, P6 – Prohibited firearm or P8 – Theatrical – Prohibited firearm.
So, if you can own them, they aren’t banned at all. I should know: I have several. They aren’t banned at all, nor are they ‘prohibited’. In fact they are permitted.
Therefore ACT aren’t re-introducing anything: all they are doing is seeing if there is a provision for people to use them in sporting competitions with appropriate licencing. Ginny Anderson is lying, just like Mike McIlraith and Chris Cahill are.
Labour are trying to scare people over fit and proper persons owning firearms that aren’t actually banned. They use emotive terms and lies to push their agenda.
If they want to have an honest debate then we are up for it. I suspect they don’t, so I guess it has to be ridicule and mocking.
