Police advise against 'knee-jerk reaction' to change gun laws

South Canterbury police and licensed Timaru arms dealers are advising people not to jump to conclusions over firearms laws after Napier gunman Jan Molenaar's 50-hour siege.

The arsenal of weapons found at Molenaar's house last week had sparked concerns about firearms laws and unlicensed owners.

Gun safety advocate Philip Alpers has said the police have "no idea" how many guns are in the hands of unlicensed owners and described the incident as a "perfect illustration of how the police have lost control over the situation".

Molenaar shot and killed Senior Constable Len Snee and wounded two other officers and a civilian when police conducted a drug search at his home last Thursday.

There are about 7000 licensed firearms owners in South Canterbury, according to Mid South Canterbury firearms officer, John Wainwright.

Mr Wainwright did not know how many gun owners did not hold licences or how many firearms were in the area.

However, he said he thought it was too early to be looking at firearms laws until more information was forthcoming.

"There is always a knee-jerk reaction to events such as this," Mr Wainwright said.

"There needs to be informed discussion first."

In 1992, the Government got rid of lifetime licences in favour of a 10-year system.

Despite an advertising campaign run in 2002, nearly 50,000 people had still not registered for the new licence.

Police said those people had their licences revoked and a file on each individual was sent to police in the district in which they were last known to live, with the expectation it would be followed up.

Molenaar had held general and collector's firearms licences but was one of the 50,000 whose licences expired in 2002.

Mr Wainwright said tougher laws would not stop weapons falling into the wrong hands.

"The reality is that we live in a country where we have firearms. There are valid uses for them and police do extensive vetting of people when they apply for licences."

Falconers Field and Stream Sports owner Stuart Falconer said changing licensing laws would not make any difference to the criminally minded who get hold of firearms.

"All the regulation in the world will not stop these sort of things happening," Mr Falconer said.

"It's all inter-related with firearms sales."

Mr Falconer along with other licensed Timaru retailers raised concerns last year about unregulated internet firearms dealing.

Timaru arms dealers said private gun owners trading in firearms did not have annual checks for dealer's licences, the requirement to record seller and buyer details or to store guns safely.

Those flouting the law did not have to go through the same security and vetting as dealers, they said.

The case against the illegal trade in firearms was highlighted in 2007 when Hamilton gun collector Dale Franklin was caught in a nationwide sting on blackmarket firearms.

Police uncovered more than 200 weapons including machineguns and rocket launchers at his home.

More than 800 military-style weapons were seized from 55 properties nationwide.

There are about 225,000 licensed firearms owners and about 1.2 million guns in New Zealand.

- © Fairfax NZ News