Partners may get say on gun licences

[perseus]

Don't worry it's only over here. I had to laugh though, if they tried to do this in America the whole country would go on strike! Good idea though, perhaps parents of under 21s as well.

Partners may get say on gun licences

People applying for gun licences could be asked to prove that their current or recent partners have consented to the application, Theresa May suggests....

That said, reading it further, they do this in Canada already!

 

[Capt Frogman]

One of May's more sensible decisions for a change...

 

[MontyB]

Strikes me as an idiotic waste of time, if someone has not been convicted of a crime nor even suspected of a crime then how can it be used to bar them from legal ownership of a firearm.
Quite honestly it is that mentality that has driven males from professions that involve kids and it is wrong.

 

[senojekips]

Strikes me as an idiotic waste of time, if someone has not been convicted of a crime nor even suspected of a crime then how can it be used to bar them from legal ownership of a firearm.
Quite honestly it is that mentality that has driven males from professions that involve kids and it is wrong.

I feel that any person who has reservations about another person's fitness to own a firearm should be able to report them to the police and have their concerns noted. Of course, if the report is found to be malicious, the reporting person should be charged with knowingly providing false information to the police. As is the case with other crimes at the moment in Australia.

I did it as a member of our local pistol club when a person known to me applied to get a licence, reporting my concerns to the club administration and stating that if they didn't act on it I would take the matter to the police.

The probational member concerned withdrew his application and left the club.

 

[perseus]

To be fair I don't think they are suggesting that the partner has an outright veto as the headline suggests, but their views will be taken in consideration especially if there is a history of domestic violence.

In Canada, spouses or recent ex-spouses are required to sign gun licence application forms. If they decline, additional checks are carried out on the applicant.

 

[MontyB]

My concern in this is that they switch from denying a license based on your record to looking for any obscure reason to deny a license and I am prepared to bet that any additional checks will just end up being a stream of revenue for the government.

Now I am all in favour of the police contacting acquaintances in the course of a routine check but where should it end, any history of domestic violence should be on your record so can you really trust a former partner to tell the truth given that the only chance of it not being on your record is if they did not report it in the first place.

So on the whole I remain unconvinced that it is a good idea or even a necessary idea as it simply comes down to one persons word against another.

 

[BritinBritain]

My concern in this is that they switch from denying a license based on your record to looking for any obscure reason to deny a license and I am prepared to bet that any additional checks will just end up being a stream of revenue for the government.

That is EXACTLY what is happening in South Africa, not only that, the police contact our immediate neighbours which is not only a invasion of my privacy, its extremely dangerous. If a neighbour is anti gun they can put the kibosh on the application. Besides which, I don't want all and sundry to know I've got a firearm. Remember that newspaper in the US that printed the names and address's of firearm owners? Last I heard two people have had their homes broken into and their firearm and concealed carry permit stolen.

 

[MontyB]

That is EXACTLY what is happening in South Africa, not only that, the police contact our immediate neighbours which is not only a invasion of my privacy, its extremely dangerous. If a neighbour is anti gun they can put the kibosh on the application. Besides which, I don't want all and sundry to know I've got a firearm. Remember that newspaper in the US that printed the names and address's of firearm owners? Last I heard two people have had their homes broken into and their firearm and concealed carry permit stolen.

Yes I am somewhat in the same boat as a collector the less people know about what have and where it is the better.

 

[perseus]

There is a vague relationship between homicides and inequality but if firearms are another factor we might expect high ownership rates to be well above the line (such as Finland and the US) whilst low ownership rates well below the line (such as the UK, Ireland and Singapore).

Question for you Monty. Why are firearm deaths so low in NZ despite the relatively high ownership there. Portugal is another anomaly.

 

[MontyB]

There is a vague relationship between homicides and inequality but if firearms are another factor we might expect high ownership rates to be well above the line (such as Finland and the US) whilst low ownership rates well below the line (such as the UK, Ireland and Singapore).

Question for you Monty. Why are firearm deaths so low in NZ despite the relatively high ownership there. Portugal is another anomaly.

There are a couple of reasons:
1) It is frowned upon to have a weapon in public if you are seen with one there is a very good chance you will get at the very least a visit from a cop our public do not believe in weapons in public.

2) We are a more basic bunch it is seen as more "manly" (for want of a better term) to beat the **** out of someone you don't like than shoot him.

3) Firearms are not that big a deal to us, out side of a few paranoid geriatrics most Kiwi's do not feel unsafe and we do not have a rabid fear of our government we prefer to laugh at them rather than arm ourselves from them, basically firearms are not a high priority for Kiwi's.

On the whole there are more important things in life than firearms, we buy them for sport not for protection.

 

[BritinBritain]

There are a couple of reasons:
1) It is frowned upon to have a weapon in public if you are seen with one there is a very good chance you will get at the very least a visit from a cop our public do not believe in weapons in public.

2) We are a more basic bunch it is seen as more "manly" (for want of a better term) to beat the **** out of someone you don't like than shoot him.

3) Firearms are not that big a deal to us, out side of a few paranoid geriatrics most Kiwi's do not feel unsafe and we do not have a rabid fear of our government we prefer to laugh at them rather than arm ourselves from them, basically firearms are not a high priority for Kiwi's.

On the whole there are more important things in life than firearms, we buy them for sport not for protection.

That's the difference to us in SA, the vast majority of handguns are purchased for self defence, sport is a secondary reason. Bolt action rifles are mainly purchased for sport/hunting, but some rifles like the Lee Enfield with its 10 round magazine are bought for farm defence. I would say its 50/50 regarding shotguns, 50% (roughly) are pump action 12 bores for home defence such as the Winchester 1300, while the rest are doubles, S/S or O/U used for clays or birding.

 

[pixiedustboo]

People applying for gun licences could be asked to prove that their current or recent partners have consented to the application, Theresa May suggests....

This is quite frankly, stupid. I get the 'idea' behind it, but as seno said, anyone should be able to come forward when they have serious worries of anothers' ability to have a firearm.


This idea of proving one's "innocence" before being able to own a firearm is uncalled for. We have background checks. We should have more comprehensive background checks that take into account mental stability, but we don't and this little jewel of a potential law is not the answer in my opinion. *ALSO if a woman is in a relationship with someone who is abusive do you really think (even to seemingly save her own life) she is going to give up her abuser? No. She is going to give her "permission" and then when she gets shot it will be "her" own fault. Unbelievable.

 

[George]

There are a couple of reasons:
1) It is frowned upon to have a weapon in public if you are seen with one there is a very good chance you will get at the very least a visit from a cop our public do not believe in weapons in public.

Generally speaking open carry is frown upon in most places in the US, unless obviously heading to the woods for hunting. Shotguns in the rear window rack of pick ups tend not to happen outside of hunting season.