Firearms

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30109, 18 April 1963, Page 3

Firearms

Sir,—Dealing with a recent case at Rotorua concerning the death of a small boy owing to the discharge of a rifle, the Magistrate expressed his opinion that anyone applying to the police for a firearms licence should be required to show himself conversant with the proper handling of the weapon. Considering that, almost without exception, casualties caused by firearms are the result of disregard or ignorance of certain elementary rules of conduct, are we really to believe that the police, or anyone else, wittingly put into the hands of novices a lethal weapon without first ascertaining whether they have the remotest idea of its safe handling? If so, there is something very wrong somewhere; and it is costing quite a lot in death and injury. The sad thing is that these cases rarely teem to provoke any positive remedial action.—Yours, etc., M.T.

April 16, 1963. I The Chief Superintendent of Police, Christchurch (Mr M. Brown), said: ‘‘Any person applying for a permit to procure a firearm must apply personally and he or she is interviewed by a member of the Arms Office. This officer is satisfied before he issues the permit that the person applying is suitable. A book entitled ‘Safety With Firearms’ is given free to any person who registers a firearm."]