The Sporting Shooters Association has released a new year message to supporters:

WELCOME TO 2023 from Sporting Shooters Association.

You probably thought the last four years (2019, 20, 21 & 22) have been bad for law abiding citizens who have been vetted to be fit and proper people to own a firearm.

YOU AIN’T SEEN NOTHING YET.

2023 will see the start of the registration of all your firearms, with increased fees for every interaction you make with your new Police “Regulator”.

Many of your favourite shooting clubs and ranges are likely to close as they face intrusive bureaucracy and costs from the “Regulator”.

Many of your favourite gun related businesses will close as they face increased costs and interference by the “Regulator”.

Public events will no longer feature military reenactments or displays of firearms such as seen at Armistice in Cambridge, thanks to new costs and interference from the “Regulator”.

Gun Shows and Auctions are likely to become a thing of the past, as the “Regulator” imposes more restrictions and costs on these events.

The “Regulator” is already proposing to issue expensive permits to allow collectors to transport their guns to events, how long before they apply the same permit to carry to hunters?

The “Regulator” claims to want the safest firearm environment in the world – the sad reality is that we already had that in New Zealand prior to 2019.

The whole ethos of the 1983 Arms Act was – make it easy and most people will comply with the law, and we did; sadly the police have forgotten this.

Conversely over regulation leads to resentment and non- compliance.