ARMS ACT

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 739, 12 August 1929, Page 9

ARMS ACT

CORRECTING ANOMALIES DANGER OF ABOLITION The suggested amendments to the Arms Act. IH2O, are meeting with the approval of sports dealers in the city but in official quarters this approval is not general. Officials agree that some of the present clauses of the Act are not necessary, but they disapprove of the suggestion that dealers should have the right to control the registration of firearms. It is suggested that the clauses relating to the lending of guns might easily be done avray with, without any* danger, but there must be a defi nite registration by the police so that all firearms can be traced easily and quickly. Several instances of this necessity have been brought before the police and the public recently. Some weeks ago a man was tound flourishing a revolver in Wellesley Street. As soon as the man was apprehended by the police, they were able to trace the owner of that revolver in a few minutes by looking up the registration records.

Another instance occurred at Northcote when a man who was charged with presenting a revolver at another man was found to have four revolvers in his possession, only one of which was registered. It is considered that in cases of murder and suicide it is absolutely essential in the public interest that the police have records to which they can refer immediately. If dealers were allowed to be the registrars, identification and tracing of the firearms might take a good deal of time. Another point which cannot be overlooked is that ail visitors with firearms in their possession must de Clare them to the Customs authorities on arrival and a policeman is always on the wharf to see to the registration in that quarter. If this were not done firearms could be brought into the country indiscriminately. Records would hardly be in safe keeping if registration were in the hands only of the dealers. Fire and change of business premises would result in lost records. Officials consider that the regulations regarding the use of explosives in country districts might be altered with advantage to the people who use them. These are usually farmers. If they wish to use explosives for blasting rock or tree stumps they must personally obtain permission from the police to do so, and this often means long trips to a police station with a subsequent loss of valuable time.

It has been suggested that farmers and users of explosives in country districts could satisfy the -authorities by making a declaration to a J.P.. this to be sent on afterward to the police officer in the district.

One official stated today that if dealers had the whole of control of the licensing of firearms the Act might as well be scrapped. There were certainly several anomalies in the Act which could very well be corrected, but its abolition was not altogether to be desired.