I NEED MY SEMI AUTOMATIC FOR HUNTING - YEAH RIGHT.

"HANDS UP BAMBI"

"In the wake of the Texas church massacre, new information shows there are more than 13,000 military-style semi-automatic (MSSA) weapons in this countryInformation released to RNZ under the Official Information Act shows the weapons make up nearly a quarter of all restricted firearms in this countryPolice said owners were vetted before they were allowed such weapons, and faced tougher security requirements than for a standard gun licence.Police said this system dealt with any potential risks.National Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies director Kevin Clements said 13,000 was far too many."Most of those weapons are absolutely no use whatsoever for either hunting purposes or farming purposes."They are, as their name indicates, assault weapons and developed primarily for military use."Professor Clements said the 13,000 weapons were just the ones registered with police and the actual number could be higher still."You just need one individual, as in Aramoana, or one individual, as in Texas, who suddenly has a psychiatric break, or very malign purposes with access to such weapons, and then they can create mayhem."Then people will say, 'well how did he have access to such weapons?'."Well they had access to such weapons, because many of them are not under very strict control."Professor Clements said there should be an amnesty similar to one in Australia following the Port Arthur massacre in 1996."I think the more that can be taken out of circulation the better."Council of Licensed Firearm Owners spokesperson Nicole McKee said there were valid uses for the guns - such as hunting rabbits and culling goats."We also have legitimate sporting use for them as well."We have clubs ... such as [the] New Zealand Service Rifle Association, which use these types of firearm both nationally and internationally."Mrs McKee said the number of military-style semi-automatic weapons in New Zealand was low given there were about 1,200,000 guns in the country.There were strict processes in place to ensure the guns remained in safe hands, she said."The owner is checked on by police roughly every 12 months to make sure those particular firearms are still in their possession, so all those firearms are registered."Police Association vice-president Craig Tickelpenny said MSSA guns were not the main problem."They're actually following the regulation and rules with the firearms licence system."The bigger issue really is unlicensed firearms, or the firearms being stolen out in the community," he said.Mr Tickelpenny said registering firearms was the best protection against theft."

- Charlie Dreaver Radio New Zealand Report 8 November 2017

This concerns me. 
Professor Kevin Clements rightly raises the question as to why there are so many of these weapons that are "are absolutely no use whatsoever for either hunting purposes or farming purposes." and points out that the 13,000 military-style semi-automatic weapons were just the ones registered with the police. Under the current stupid regulations the numbers could be higher.

The Council of Licensed Firearm Owners Annie Oakley Nicole McKee had the absolute gall to say that military-style semi automatic assault weapons can validly be used to hunt rabbits and goats! Silly bitch. She also went on to say that there is legitimate use for them in sporting clubs. Fuck! The last I heard, at the Olympics competitors fire single shots at  targets. They don't blast away with sub fucking machine guns.

Competitor: "Hey Umpire, did I hit the target?"
Umpire: "What fucking target? it's been obliterated"

Lastly the Police Association vice-president said that the registered semi-automatic military style murder tools aren't the problem. He said and I quote: "The bigger issue really is unlicensed firearms, or the firearms being stolen out in the community,"  Can you spot the flaw in this argument? The police think the problem is in unlicensed firearms. Unlicensed firearms are stolen from the community where licensed firearms are legal. Duh!

In New Zealand we have about 1.2 million supposedly legal guns and god knows how many illegal ones. That's a lot but, in world terms a pittance. We in New Zealand have an opportunity to lead the world, as we have in the past with social, educational, health and ethical legislation, to radically change our gun ownership laws and get rid of the things. 

Professor Clements in the article above said there should be an amnesty similar to one in Australia following the Port Arthur massacre in 1996."I think the more that can be taken out of circulation the better."

I totally agree with him.