Gun Owners Outraged as New Zealand Government Refuses to Pay Full Price for Banned Firearms

Gun owners in New Zealand are outraged that the government is doing a forced buyback of “military style” semiautomatic rifles but refusing to pay full price for the firearms.

The New Zealand Herald quoted Council of Licensed Firearms Owners spokesperson Nicole McKee, who said, “Some of the offered prices for higher-end firearms are well out of kilter. We’re talking thousands of dollars.”

McKee indicated that the government is paying such low prices that some gun owners are simply refusing to hand their firearms over.

She added, “It may get down to a point where we have to look at court action on behalf of our members, and that is something we will be looking at under advice from our lawyers.”

On March 20–five days after the attacks in Christchurch–New Zealanders were told a forced buyback of “military style” semiautomatic rifles was in the works. On April 1, the actual language of ban became public and revealed that pump shotguns accepting detachable magazines were also banned, as were pump shotguns with tubular magazines holding more than five rounds. Moreover, any magazines holding more than ten rounds were banned and certain gun parts became prohibited as well.

Now gun owners say the government is not willing to pay the true value of the banned firearms. A June 20, New Zealand police announcement makes clear the most that will be paid for any firearm is 95 percent of what the gun was worth before the ban took effect.

The 95 percent buyback reimbursement only applies to guns in like-new condition. If the firearm is categorized as “used,” the highest reimbursement possible is 70 percent of the firearm’s value.

AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com. Sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange.