COLFO News Issue 5 – October 2018

Importing Parts for ARs and AKs
COLFO has facilitated a meeting with affected Dealers and Legal Advisors to plan for a Judicial Review of
Police policy in relation to the importation of parts and components for A Cat. ARs and AKs, which Police
are treating as MSSAs. This is seriously restricting the importation of spare parts and components for repair
and custom builds of A Cat. ARs and AKs.

Transporting Ammunition by Courier
Most courier companies will no longer transport ammunition, primers and powder due to threats of
$50,000 fines by Work Safe Inspectors if they hold these products in their depots longer than 24 hours.
COLFO has written to the Minister responsible requesting a relaxation of the regulations for these Class 1
Dangerous Goods.

United we stand – will you stand with us?
The New Zealand firearms community is comprised of diverse groups. Many of our interests are shared, such as
aspects of law and policy which affect us all. Other interests or concerns might apply to one group more than others.
Regardless of our origins, are your respective clubs or organisations prepared? Are you financially resourced? Do you
pay club or association fees? Does any of it go towards protecting the interests of firearms owners? These are all
questions to reflect on and discuss at the local and national level. Does your organisation have access to financial
reserves when the day comes to defend your interests in court? Or does your organisation contribute financially to
one that does?

We welcome the return of IMAS as a Club member to COLFOs ranks and warmly thank the Northland Black Powder
Club for voting to become a club member, and financially support COLFO. We are stronger if we are united and work
together on our common issues. The UK experience clearly shows the pitfalls of a divided approach.

Another Police Road Show
More information is available at: http://www.police.govt.nz/advice/fir...ws-and-updates

We Failed
On the 1st of April 20XX a mentally disturbed young man, with a long history of mental illness and isolation,
illegally obtained a SKS rifle, and a sawn off side by side shotgun. Both firearms had been stolen from a
semi-rural property about 4 years before, and had made their way through various hands before being sold
together with some synthetic cannabis. The original burglary had not been investigated by Police and the
Police had not acted on a number of complaints about the young man’s increasingly odd behaviour. He had
no licence and had made a number of threats on social media. The young man ran amok with both. The
nation was stunned and in a state of grief.

That evening, a grey and obviously shaken Prime Minister said “let me be clear- we will make sure this
never happens again”. A member of the coalition Government stated publically that “no one in New
Zealand needs to own these battle field weapons”. The Police Union, riding the success of the heroism of
uniformed officers who had rescued victims, appeared on several 7pm talk shows, and stated that “the
evidence is clear that there is no need to own weapons like these”. The talk shows at 7pm seemed to have
gone out of their way to push an agenda that the “gun lobby” were out of touch and callous. Any members
of the shooting world who appeared suffered selective editing that made them look terrible. The following
week, under urgency, all pistols, rifles over .338 calibre, collectors’ firearms and pump-action and semi-
automatic rifles and shotguns were outlawed in New Zealand without compensation and those handed in
were crushed.

If this scenario occurred, what would you do as it unfolded? Write to your politicians? Post on social
media? No doubt there would be form letters and emails prepared and someone would start a petition,
but the end result would be nothing would change. We are New Zealand firearms owners and as a group
we tend to react when the horse has bolted. Do we really want a motto of “Too little and Too Late”?
Would we ever be forgiven by our future generations for not trying hard enough?

In social media, for example, we preach to the choir which achieves little. All we end up doing is
disagreeing on stupid points and splinter an already very diverse group of gun owners. COLFO routinely
sees posts in which we are told we need to do this that or the other thing, yet the poster cannot really
point to what they themselves have done. To these people we ask “What are YOU doing?” We will see
posts where people deride other shooting sports or are unwilling to assist other disciplines. It is for this
reason that we have asked airsoft and paintball to join us. We must unite if we are to survive. Will YOU
work together with others?

The major issue that gun owners face is that usually the only time non-gun shooters hear about us in the
press is when a criminal uses a firearm. Recently COLFO has made some success, but the work is endless.
As gun owners we usually keep a low profile, keep quiet and hope “she will be right”. This will not do! Will
YOU help?

Our hobby, our clubs and the businesses that support us all will be finished forever unless we can show,
clearly to the public right now that licensed firearms owners are a vastly law abiding group and that we are
not and will never be the problem. It is time for gun owners, related businesses, and gun clubs to show
themselves. We are law abiding responsible citizens, not the terrorists, mentally ill or gang members who
misuse firearms. What are YOU doing to be seen and heard?

Firearms owners should always be alert to a chance to teach a new shooter and introduce someone to the
hobby. Even if they say “I’d really like to try a handgun” and you are not a pistol owner, you should
facilitate this as best you can. When was the last time YOU took a new person shooting and introduced
them to the sport? What are YOU doing to grow our collective numbers?

Gun Clubs must list their open hours, have a social media presence, recruit new members, recruitment
drives, host family days, invite a friend day, have a kids day. Before and after every event get a report in
the local newspaper, and make full use of social media as the window to our sports. If your club is unwilling
to get some publicity get on to your leadership. After all if guns are banned we do not need gun clubs, and
they will cease to exist. What are YOU doing to help develop your club?

Firearm businesses must support new shooters in every way possible. Do not just give them their first
firearms, they must talk to them about how they can try other disciplines, or how they can get their friends
involved. Sponsor schools and shooting clubs. We have recently seen a great example of this in Upper Hutt.
Have COLFO’s details available, and a list of clubs. These are, if you look after them, customers for the rest
of their lives. After all, if guns are banned, your business is gone too, and we need YOU. What has YOUR
Business done to grow the sports?

WE must now promote our sports and hobbies and YOU play a part. WE must increase the pressure on
poor policy and administration that undermines our interests. YOU play a part. WE must come together;
and that includes YOU. Numbers are power. Without numbers we are POWERLESS. So, what will YOU do to
help?

You can become an individual supporter of COLFO here: http://colfo.org.nz