Damon Rusden: Guns don't kill people - but they make it easier

There are 14,000 semi-automatic weapons in the country, with untold more unregistered, writes Damon Rusden. Photo / File

We never thought the gun debate would reach New Zealand.

In the aftermath of the terrorist attack in Christchurch Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern intends to change gun laws, we need to keep two things in mind; firstly, the terrorist wants to cause strife and contention through this debate. In a way we are giving him what he wants.

But the second is that we need to have this discussion. We are capable of doing this in a rational way.

New Zealand has a lot of guns. There are around 1.5 million registered weapons currently and around 300,000 registered firearm owners. It is beyond doubt that those weapons are largely used safely and legally, mostly for hunting and recreation.

However, it is a known fact that our gun laws are some of the weakest in the world, and even the Police Association has admitted that they don't know where the vast majority of guns are because the register isn't compulsory.

This is especially worrying when we consider there are 14,000 semi-automatic weapons floating around in the country, with untold more unregistered.

In 2010 the government attempted to change the category of some civilian semi-automatic weapons to a military category. A legal challenge was successful and the law was overturned by the High Court.

This begs the question; if the New Zealand National Shooters Association (NSA) had failed to win the case and semi-automatics like the one used in Christchurch had been banned, would so many people have been killed?

There is no disputing that most firearm owners in New Zealand are responsible. Hunting is a favourite pastime, and so is shooting a few cans in the backyard or down at the gun range. But is a semi-automatic rifle necessary?

The short answer is that it is not. It makes pest control easier for orchardists, farmers and (arguably) conservation, but that's all a semi-automatic is genuinely useful for.

A semi-automatic rifle is convenient. But that convenience also extends to the slaughter of people in a crowded location; there's a reason why they are the weapons of choice for mass killings.

Frankly, it makes it easier. So is the convenience that semi-automatics provide for recreation, hunters and pest-control worth the additional lives that will certainly be lost in another potential attack?

The same excuses are used here that are used in America.

"Guns don't kill people, people kill people." Yes. Yes they do. But semi-automatic assault rifles that can be purchased on a low-level license only aid any perpetrator in having a higher impact; more deaths.

In fact weapons (before the ban) legally purchased could be easily modified to become fully-automatic military-grade weapons as our gun laws failed to be comprehensive and target specific mods which can be brought separately.

"You don't see anyone banning vans, even though several attacks have been committed in them." No we don't, because vehicles are necessary to modern life. Are semi-automatic rifles necessary?

"Anyone who wants to do that will find that kind of gun illegally." Yes they will – but should we allow it be purchased at a local gun store or available by mail-order? We shouldn't make it easy for them.

"We have to protect ourselves from a tyrannical government." This is an argument directly out of the American constitution – and admittedly a logical one. The purpose of the second amendment is to allow civilian militias and defence against tyranny.

However, ask yourself this; would a semi-automatic be useful against the arsenal of an entire army? Technology has equipped Western militaries across the world with unmatched capability. Arguably it would be futile. And surely the New Zealand people are capable of protecting ourselves from outright tyranny.

There is no pretending to have the answer on how we prevent another atrocity like Christchurch. A fully functional person may obtain a gun license and then become radicalised, or simply snap. We should still apply the precautionary principle in regards to semi-automatics.

The only things stopping us from having regular murderous attacks like those in the US are population and culture. Both of those things are changing in New Zealand.

People of all stripes will be fierce in their opinions of free speech, gun control, censorship, the abject failure of our intelligence services and every other facet that was a part of fostering and enabling a white supremacist to kill 50 innocent people.

But one thing is for sure: we should not be selling weapons over-the-counter which will only result in more lives being lost.

* Damon Rusden has just completed a fellowship in crisis management in Nepal, and is based in Vietnam as an ESL teacher. He is a former Green Party candidate for Napier.