Many Canadian gun owners took that general attitude toward gun control initiatives over the years.
It took successive waves of politicians over decades lying continuously to the public about what their ultimate end of gun control would be...we found out.
They won't be satisfied until all or most guns are banned. They even want our Lee Enfields (holds too many rounds). They want any action/function over 10,000 joules of muzzle energy. That includes single shot break actions, bolts...stunningly ridiculous. Of course, those types of rifles can be some of the most expensive firearms you can buy...and are 100% purpose built for hunting and nothing else. There are people with $10,000+ safari rifles that will have to try and ship them out of country or lose them to confiscation at some point.
We are simply waiting for the hammer to fall now. These firearms are all locked up in people's homes and cannot be used. They're supposed to initiate a "buyback"...(don't get me started).
The feds are angling to do away with all or most semi's and restrict mag tube capacity on pumps and levers. Can you imagine the horror of butchering a 150 year old lever action rifle just to satisfy the government's arbitrary 5 round capacity rule?
There comes a time when being "reasonable" means rolling over for people who are way more concerned with a pushing a disingenuous disarmament agenda than they ever cared about safety.
I hope it doesn't go that way for NZ'ers but if Trudeau and his ilk have their way it certainly will for us. Ardern and Trudeau were quite happy to congratulate each other on their gun control campaigns. Trudeau was practically frothing at the mouth when Ardern announced the sweeping bans a few years back. Trudeau even wants to ban air rifles and air soft for heavens sake. These people have a not so secret anymore total disarmament agenda and they constantly lie about it! And it's time we stood together and told them where to shove their gun bans!
No offense to you but just about any firearm is suitable for putting food on the table in my opinion. I don't subscribe to the notion that "If you need more than X number of rounds you shouldn't hunt anyway..." We get that crap hurled at us constantly from gun grabbers and from our within own community of hunters...people who just can't see the forest for the trees. It pisses me off that some hunters still refuse to stand up for ALL gun owners rights to own firearms for whatever lawful purpose they choose.
Why does anyone need anything that goes beyond bare necessities??? Why does anyone need alcohol? It's killed more people than just about anything else in the history of mankind.
Why does anyone need a white van or truck? They're notorious for being used in mass killings.
I think most sensible people would agree that restricting access to firearms based on criminal history or on long, verifiable histories of mental illness is a far better way to go than banning the firearms themselves and preventing lawful, responsible ownership.
Sorry for the long post.