March 2025
Tirohanga Whānui | Overview
The New Zealand Council of Christian Social Services (NZCCSS) supports the kaupapa to prevent public harm from firearms and urges the strengthening of regulations to achieve this.
Taunakitanga | Recommendations
Recommendation 1: We urge that the regulation of firearms prioritise the safety of New Zealanders.
Recommendation 2: We urge the rewrite of the Arms Act to prioritise reducing the number of firearms in New Zealand and reducing access to existing firearms.
Whakaaro| Discussion
Access to firearms harms New Zealanders
New Zealanders deserve to live free from violence and fear of violence. The availability of firearms in New Zealand impacts both public safety and the public’s sense of safety.
New Zealand frequently sees firearms used in suicides and family violence. We also saw firearms used in the March 15 terrorist attack. Firearms are also used as tools of intimidation and coercion, including within intimate partnerships and families.
We support a reduction in access to firearms
Greater numbers and access to firearms increase the chance of their misuse. Strengthened gun control has been shown to be effective at reducing suicides, including from New Zealand’s previous experience.
The need for easy access to civilian ownership of firearms is usually defended for the purposes of recreation and pest control. While we do recognise there is a legitimate use for firearms for pest control, New Zealand has twice number of guns by population compared to Australia.
In our view, the purpose of the Act should be to reduce the number of firearms and reduce access to them. We support the inclusion of policies that would enable:
- reducing the sale of new firearms
- buying back existing firearms
- tightening criteria for the lawful ownership and use of firearms
- tightly controlling the resale of existing firearms.