Editorial: Pass airgun law

OPINION: The murder conviction of an Auckland man for fatally shooting an undercover police officer with a high-powered air rifle has renewed calls for tougher controls over who can gain legal access to these weapons.

Since that shooting two years ago, first the police hierarchy and now the Police Association have urged the Government to bring high-powered airguns under the firearm licence regime.

At present those over the age of 18 can purchase an airgun without a firearms licence and the background checks associated with applying for one. And those under this age can use an airgun under the supervision of an adult.

This regime might have been appropriate in the past years. Then, many airguns would have been bought so parents could teach safe and accurate shooting techniques using a relatively low-powered weapon.

But times have changed, including the reality that airguns are being used more and more by criminals. The police officer shot in Auckland is believed to be the first person to have been murdered by being shot with an airgun, but the ready availability of these weapons has led them to being used for a range of other crimes, including armed robberies.

And, in Christchurch, incidents have included the airgun shooting of bus windows by two youths earlier this year.

Another change is that the present unlicensed regime has been overtaken by technology. Ever more powerful airguns than those available a generation ago are now on the market, some having the power of a .22 rifle.

Not only are these airguns more dangerous in the hands of criminals but they also have the potential to inflict serious injuries in accidental shootings.

Other nations have also had to deal with the problems created by modern airguns. Many of these jurisdictions already have a system in which airguns over a specified power limit can only be bought by a person holding a firearms licence. This sort of legislation is what the police in New Zealand are urging the Government to now introduce.

It is true that the current liberal purchasing regime means that there are already significant numbers of powerful airguns in circulation. But a law change to require buyers to have licences would at least provide greater control in the future over buyers of both new and second-hand weapons.

Gang members and criminals do illegally acquire firearms in breach of the licence system at present, often through theft. No doubt they would also be able to get powerful airguns if they were controlled, but at least it should be more difficult to do so if they could not legally buy them.

The call to bring some airguns within the licence regime has been heard since at least 1997 when the report into gun control by Sir Thomas Thorp recommended this. That advice was not acted on but now Police Minister Judith Collins says that submissions on airguns could be made to the select committee considering the Arms Amendment Bill.

But this bill has been parked before the committee for five years, and it is unlikely to be passed into law in the near future. Better that the Government should pass separate airgun legislation sooner to show that it is serious about the threat posed by these weapons to the police and the public.

- © Fairfax NZ News