Sixty-two New Zealand gun owners had their firearm licenses revoked, not for anything they said or did, but for what they allegedly believed.
The 62 licensees must now surrender their firearms. None were ever charged with a crime. Instead, New Zealand government officials accused them – and more than a thousand others who did not own firearms – of being “under the influence of sovereign citizen ideologies,” which stress the illegitimacy of the national government.
These types of anti-government beliefs, according to the New Zealand newspaper Waikato Times, violate the “fit and proper person” clause as defined by New Zealand law, which is a requirement for anyone who applies for or possesses a firearm license.
The New Zealanders who allegedly harbored anti-government views were discovered though a national intelligence operation known as “Operation Belfast,” which targeted ordinary citizens and was orchestrated by New Zealand police.
To be clear, officials took the guns based solely on what the licensees may have believed.
For law-abiding American gun owners, the Kiwis’ plight should serve as a stark reminder of the dangers of firearm registration, especially when coupled with a government that doesn’t care about an individual’s inherent rights, such as the right of their citizens to defend themselves and their families.
Vice President Kamala Harris has praised Australian gun control, which is somewhat more restrictive than that of New Zealand. Australia’s “mandatory buyback” netted more than 700,000 individual firearms. Harris has repeatedly called for a “mandatory buyback” of American firearms, which is nothing more than forced confiscation by armed government agents. However, in order for Harris’ confiscation plan to work, it would have to be preceded by national registration of the firearms she finds objectionable, namely ARs, AKs and other extremely popular semi-automatics.
“I support a mandatory buyback program,” Harris has said during numerous interviews.
Straight from the source, Harris is here to take your guns.
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— SAF (@2AFDN) October 16, 2024
Other comments show she is not concerned about time-honored constitutional protections that shield law-abiding Americans from government intrusion and overreach.
“Just because you legally possess a gun in the sanctity of your locked home doesn’t mean that we’re not going to walk into that home and check to see if you’re being responsible and safe in the way you conduct your affairs,” she has said.
George Orwell, in his dystopian classic “1984,” defined thoughtcrimes as thinking in ways the ruling party does not approve.
He was only off by 40 years.
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About Lee Williams
Lee Williams, who is also known as “The Gun Writer,” is the chief editor of the Second Amendment Foundation’s Investigative Journalism Project. Until recently, he was also an editor for a daily newspaper in Florida. Before becoming an editor, Lee was an investigative reporter at newspapers in three states and a U.S. Territory. Before becoming a journalist, he worked as a police officer. Before becoming a cop, Lee served in the Army. He’s earned more than a dozen national journalism awards as a reporter, and three medals of valor as a cop. Lee is an avid tactical shooter.
Those actions pretty much demonstrate “the illegitimacy of the national government. “
This happens to subjects, not citizens. We must remain vigilant lest we go down that same thorny path.
A chilling reminder of what is at stake this election cycle in the US.
Coming here soon if Harris is elected and has a democrat congress
I shudder to think it could happen here! Oops, I better not think, that could get me in trouble
George Orwell originally titled his book, “1964”, but was told by his publisher that “1984” would be a better title. We now know that a possibly better title would have been, “2025.”
Everyone, please vote. The results of this election could very well end the USA.
I saw on the news last night that New Zealand has a new regulation at it’s international airport: good-bye hugs cannot exceed 3 minutes in the drop-off zone. It is not the 3 minute limit meant to address congestion that is insidious, but the tying it to an emotional and physical act.
And our “leaders” wonder why White Nationalism is growing at a record pace worldwide….
Soon the left will be using A.I. to determine who the federal government finds a threat and then they will be going in the dark of night and taking guns from innocent people under the color of Red Flag Law.
Wow, so the New Zealand, paranoid, far leftist politicians , fear anyone that disagrees and objects with their New World Order policies? And that leads to gun confiscation? It sounds like these New Zealand politicians are not suitable for office and should be removed immediately and placed into a mental institution for study and observation ! Did New Zealand gun owners actually vote for these mentally unstable people? Or as usual, was the voting rigged? This sounds as bad as England, where subjects are arrested for praying in silence! Can the police read their minds,? This is just the first… Read more »