Category: A Victory!
The New Zealand government is working to reform its complex and draconian firearms law.
In 2019, a far-left ideologue mass murdered dozens of Muslims in New Zealand. One of his goals was to promote draconian gun laws in New Zealand and in the United States. He succeeded in New Zealand. Many extreme restrictions on firearms and ownership were piled onto already restrictive laws.
Far Left PM Jacinda Ardern was successful in pushing through the draconian law on a wave of media maximized emotion. As part of the pushback to these draconian exercises of power, the Hon. Nicole McKee was elected as a member of parliament for the ACT party in the election of 2020.
Associate Minister of Justice, Hon. Nicole McKee, was interviewed in 2024 by deerstalkers.org.nz:
Labour’s firearm law changes in 2019 affected everybody, not just hunters. Although, in saying that, hunters are a massive part of the licenced-firearms-owning community.
I recall when the kids were small, and hubby was studying, the only way we got meat on our table at home was when I went out and hunted for it. We could not afford supermarket meat.
The real motivation came in 2019. I was running my own business, running firearms licencing courses in rural and isolated communities.
I realised when the 2019 changes came into effect that they would affect everybody, not just the hunters, as I mentioned, but also target shooters, collectors, pest controllers and so on.
In the New Zealand election of 14 October 2023, the three conservative parties won 67 seats, while the far left parties dropped 21 seats to a total of 55. This was a tremendous repudiation of the far left in New Zealand. Gun owners are only 5% of the population of New Zealand.
Nicole McKee was elected to the New Zealand Parliament in 2020. She is a member of ACT, a conservative/libertarian party in New Zealand. ACT has 11 of the 67 conservative seats. The conservative coalition government started a process to reform the draconian gun law shortly after being elected. McKee is heading up the effort. From the Hon Nicole McKee June 1, 2024:
“Cabinet has agreed to the registry review terms of reference and the review is now underway,” Associate Minister of Justice, Hon Nicole McKee says.
The Hon Nicole McKee has been keeping people informed of the new government’s progress on reforming the disastrous and confusing laws passed in 2019. Here are excerpts from her releases. Americans will realize that defense of self and others, or militia use for the common defense, are not mentioned. From a September 11, 2024 ,release:
“I am focused on producing the best firearms laws in the world – laws that are easy to comply with and improve public safety.
“The previous Labour Government’s rushed, knee-jerk law changes have not made New Zealanders safer. More people were convicted of a firearm-related offence in 2023 than in 2019 – up 18 per cent.
From a December 17, 2024, release:
“Most firearms users are law abiding and responsible people. Many New Zealanders use firearms to hunt for food for their families, to control introduced pests, in farming and agriculture, and in sporting and competitive events.
All these activities are legitimate. They are all important because they benefit communities and help protect our natural environment.”
“The safety of our communities is at the heart of an effective firearms regime; it is important that everyone has confidence in how firearms are controlled. For that reason, everyone has a role to play in the rewrite of the Act. This upcoming round of public consultation is the first step in hearing from all New Zealanders about their views.”
From a release on March 2, 2025:
Firearms Prohibition Orders (FPOs) are made by the court when offenders have committed serious violent offences. They are in force for 10 years – prohibiting offenders from holding a firearms licence, and from being around or accessing firearms. Breaching the conditions of an FPO is a criminal offence, and offenders that do breach conditions can be liable for up to seven years in prison.
Legal Firearms Owner is abbreviated as LFO in the releases. From a November 11, 2025, press release by the Hon. Nicole McKee, Associate Minister of Justice:
“The current law has been modified dozens of times since it came into force over 40 years ago with many of those changes being rushed through with little to no scrutiny.
The result is a complex, confusing and bureaucratic patchwork that makes it difficult for LFOs to comply while not adequately keeping the public safe.
“The new law will be written in plain English, structured logically and with public safety at its core. It makes it much more difficult for firearms to get into the hands of criminals while allowing LFOs to continue to use their firearms safely and responsibly.
Some parts of the reform effort appear to be making the law more severe. New Zealand does not have a Second Amendment. Firearm owners are only five percent of the population.
From Hon. Nicole McKee’s release:
“Penalties for over 60 Arms Act offences will be increased, and eight new offences will be created – including new offences to reduce firearms entering the black market such as for straw buying and possessing a firearm with identification markings intentionally removed.
The Hon Nicole McKee is an impressive woman. She appears to be doing the best she can with the situation as it exists. With only five percent of the population as legal gun owners and no Second Amendment, she is pushing for the rule of law when it comes to firearm ownership in New Zealand.
The assumption is that firearms ownership will be legal if the rules are followed. She is focusing on making the rules clear and easy to follow.
It may be the best that can be expected in New Zealand. The law is in the formative stage. We will not know the particulars until it actually passes the New Zealand parliament.
About Dean Weingarten:
Dean Weingarten has been a peace officer, a military officer, was on the University of Wisconsin Pistol Team for four years, and was first certified to teach firearms safety in 1973.
He taught the Arizona concealed carry course for fifteen years until the goal of Constitutional Carry was attained. He has degrees in meteorology and mining engineering, and retired from the Department of Defense after a 30 year career in Army Research, Development, Testing, and Evaluation.
Minnesota’s Walz Says He’s Going To Take “Aggressive” Executive Action On Guns
Minnesota governor and failed vice presidential candidate Tim Walz is fed up with Republican lawmakers’ opposition to all the gun control schemes he wants to see passed in the North Star State.
In fact, he’s so fed up that he’s now threatening to unilaterally make his own laws through executive action, despite the fact that such shenanigans would almost certainly run counter to the law.
At a press conference last week, Walz said he is preparing to take “incredibly aggressive executive action” on gun control proposals because of what he called “stonewalling” by Republicans in the legislature, according to a report at Fox9.com.
Of course, what he calls “stonewalling” is simply lawmakers representing their constituents, many of whom don’t believe more gun laws are the answer to any of the state’s problems.
“I’ll be rolling out a series of incredibly aggressive executive actions because of the stonewalling, and the ability to deal with this,” Walz told reporters in his usual impossible-to-understand speech pattern. “78% of people in the suburbs support an assault weapons ban and a ban on high-capacity magazines. 60% of the people strongly support it across the state, 18% do not.
Those 18 are apparently Republican legislators and leaders who are here at the Capitol. Minnesotans are dying, literally, for us to do more around gun violence prevention.”
His B.S. statistics aside, Walz’s boast about executive action comes after anti-gun lawmakers were unable to garner enough support to get a special gun-control session of the legislature to first base.
Finally, he decided the idea of a special session was just “a waste of time”—one of the few sensible things he has said since he came into the limelight during the 2024 presidential election.
On December 16, 2025, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a major lawsuit in the District Court of the Virgin Islands, St. Thomas and St. John Division, against the Government of the Virgin Islands, the Virgin Islands Police Department (VIPD), and Police Commissioner Mario Brooks.
The Justice Department accuses the defendants of systematically violating the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens through unconstitutional policies and practices related to firearm licensing. The complaint, spanning 12 pages, seeks declaratory and equitable relief under the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 to restore these fundamental human rights.
The lawsuit hinges on the assertion that the Second Amendment, affirmed as a “fundamental right” by the Supreme Court in New York State Rifle & Pistol Ass’n, Inc. v. Bruen, protects the right of individuals to keep and bear arms both at home and in public for lawful purposes, such as self-defense. This right, extended to the Virgin Islands under 48 U.S.C. § 1561, has been upheld in cases such as McDonald v. City of Chicago and District of Columbia v. Heller. However, the U.S. alleges that the Virgin Islands defendants have defied these rulings, rendering the constitutional right to bear arms “a virtual nullity” within the U.S. territory.
Central to the complaint are several specific grievances. The VIPD, under Commissioner Brooks’ supervision since January 23, 2025, enforces laws that require applicants to submit to warrantless home searches and to install safes bolted to their floors or walls as conditions for obtaining a firearm permit. These requirements, deemed unconstitutional by Heller, which struck down similar restrictions, impose significant financial burdens and privacy invasions. Additionally, the processing of applications is delayed by several months to a year, with no probable cause to justify home inspections. Non-compliance results in de facto denials, further obstructing citizens’ rights.
The complaint outlines three counts of violation under 34 U.S.C. § 12601. Count I addresses “Unconstitutional Conditions,” arguing that requiring warrantless searches and safe installations violates the Second Amendment by conditioning the right to bear arms on waiving constitutional protections against unreasonable searches and imposing financial expenditures. Count II, “Unreasonable Delays,” highlights excessive wait times and the lack of status updates, which deny applicants timely access to firearms and compel them to administrative exhaustion.
Finally, count III, “Unconstitutional ‘Proper Reason’ Requirement,” challenges the Virgin Islands’ law, mirroring the New York statute struck down in Bruen, which mandates applicants prove a “proper reason” for carrying a firearm, a discretion left entirely to the Commissioner.
The regulatory framework in the Virgin Islands exacerbates these issues. Possession of a firearm is a crime unless licensed, with permits valid for three years and tied to specific firearms, and permits require annual inspections.
The undefined “good moral character” and “proper reason” criteria allow arbitrary denials, while penalties for unlicensed possession include up to 10 years’ imprisonment and fines of $10,000 to $15,000. These stringent measures, combined with the VIPD’s pattern of denying licenses to those with “too many” firearms, create a formidable barrier to exercising Second Amendment rights.
Factual allegations, based on accounts from multiple permit applicants, detail the arduous process. Applicants must provide a purpose for ownership, undergo mandatory home inspections without legal justification, and install costly safes even in shared households.
The VIPD’s reliance on “character vouchers” and its discretionary power to define “proper reason” further conditions rights on external approval, contradicting Bruen’s rejection of “special need” requirements.
The U.S. seeks a declaration that these practices violate federal law, a permanent injunction against implementing offending Virgin Islands statutes in this manner, and additional relief as justice requires. This action underscores a broader effort to ensure that law enforcement practices align with constitutional protections, particularly in territories where local policies may diverge from federal standards.
The lawsuit’s timing, filed on the same day as its documentation, reflects the urgency of addressing these alleged violations. Led by U.S. Attorney Adam Sleeper and Assistant U.S. Attorney Angela P. Tyson-Floyd, with support from the Civil Rights Division under Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon, the case pits federal authority against territorial governance. The outcome could set a precedent for the administration of Second Amendment rights across U.S. territories, potentially reshaping firearm licensing nationwide.
For residents of the Virgin Islands, this case represents a critical juncture. The alleged bureaucratic hurdles and unconstitutional conditions have long frustrated law-abiding citizens’ ability to defend themselves, a right the Supreme Court has repeatedly affirmed.
As the legal battle unfolds, it will test the balance between the U.S. Virgin Islands government’s wants and individual liberties, with implications that may extend beyond the Caribbean to the mainland United States.
This lawsuit is a bold assertion of federal oversight to protect constitutional rights in the Virgin Islands.
By challenging the VIPD’s practices, the U.S. aims to dismantle what it describes as a coordinated effort to nullify Second Amendment protections through unconstitutional means.
As the case progresses, it will likely draw significant attention from legal scholars, gun rights advocates, and policymakers, offering a potential roadmap for resolving similar disputes elsewhere.
About John Crump
Mr. Crump is an NRA instructor and a constitutional activist. John has written about firearms, interviewed people from all walks of life, and on the Constitution. John lives in Northern Virginia with his wife and sons, follow him on X at @crumpyss, or at www.crumpy.com.
What with a Nazi Orgy and somebody with a knife and some anger issues perhaps. While the smart one has the girl. Ah the good old days! Grumpy
Senior citizen sentenced to 4-years after shooting mugger faces the grim truth: ‘I might not come out’
Yes, New Yorkers, we can finally rest easy. We got him. And by him, I mean a 67-year-old man who poses no danger to society.
Foehner is a retired doorman with the gift of gab, a devoted wife, and a habit of saying “groovy.” He spends his time watching naval history videos on YouTube.
While there are many violent criminals with rap sheets the length of a CVS receipt walking our streets, Queens DA Melinda Katz decided to throw the book at this senior citizen, after he pleaded guilty to owning unlicensed guns.
“The only way I can get out of bed in the morning is to not think about [going to prison],” Foehner told me as we sat in the living room of his Pennsylvania townhouse, where he moved a year ago.
As sun sets on his freedom, Foehner is trying to summon the energy to call the prison consultant, who will prepare him for his grim next chapter.
“I’ve got to really give him a buzz, but I’m so shut down that it’s hard to get anything done. You think, ‘okay, I am going to call’ and the day goes by and I haven’t done it.”
Instead, he’s spending time with his devoted wife Jenny Foehner-Speed and his 8-year-old dog, Biscuit, who was recently diagnosed with cancer. He’s making plans to see loved ones and friends. One of whom is suffering from various maladies.
“I don’t know if he’s going to be here in three, four years when I get out. I have friends in Queens who might move. Or they might be dead. I mean, I might not come out,” he said.
He doesn’t know where he’ll be serving his time, but he has one objective: “Survive.” He’s trying to make a plan for his imminent confinement.
“I wouldn’t mind learning to weld. I’d like to become a tutor. I always thought I would be a good teacher.”
Well, the way his case has been handled by Katz has certainly been instructive. And it should enrage anyone with a sense of justice or proportionality.
Foehner first collided with our criminal justice system in May 2023 when he went out for a pack of cigarettes in the early hours of the morning. Crime in his Kew Gardens neighborhood became a problem after a now-shuttered seedy hotel had opened up in 2017, so Foehner took a revolver with him as protection.
In an eerie twist, Foehner had complained to this very paper about the disorder in 2020.
“This isn’t our nice little neighborhood anymore,” he told The Post at that time, noting the brazen drug deals taking place.
But on that fateful night, he returned from buying smokes and saw an unhinged man banging on the door of his building. It was Cody Gonzalez, who then menacingly approached Foehner, demanding a cigarette and his phone.
“He kept coming closer and clearly he was going to attack me.” Foehner said he pulled out a gun and pointed it at the ground. But Gonzalez didn’t stop. He motioned toward Foehner’s neck with an object and his instincts kicked in. Foehner shot the man dead. The ordeal was caught on security camera.
“I didn’t want to hurt anyone. He left me no choice,” said Foehner.
He called 911 and cooperated with authorities.
Gonzalez had at least 15 priors dating back to 2004 and a history of mental illness. Conversely, Foehner had no criminal history. But he is a lifelong gun enthusiast and a doomsday prepper, who had amassed a stockpile of approximately 26 weapons the police found. Only a few were licensed.
“Until that night, I never pointed a gun at anybody. I never had to. I’m not a gun bully…I don’t want power over anyone,’ Foehner said, adding “I believe in the social contract.”
He wasn’t charged in the death of Gonzalez, which was deemed justified, but the DA threw the book at him for criminal weapons possession.
Instead of undergoing a costly and ultimately risky trial that could have sent him to jail for 25 years, he took a plea deal.
Foehner’s attorney Thomas Kenniff, who also represented acquitted subway hero Daniel Penny, blamed the city’s “draconian” gun laws that made it difficult for law abiding citizens to legally obtain guns for protection.
Clearly, Katz insisted on exacting maximum pain onto Foehner.
In fact, she heartlessly requested he spend the last few months in Rikers, but the judge granted one last mercy and allowed him to spend Thanksgiving and Christmas at home.
I cannot imagine how anyone in that office believes justice is being served here. Why are we spending tax dollars to let this good man rot in jail? Give him an ankle bracelet, probation or community service.
Foehner acknowledges he should receive some sort of punishment.
“I said to Tom [Kenniff], If they want me to, I’ll start at the Triborough Bridge and I’ll clean to Grand Central Parkway all the way to the Nassau border. As long as I don’t have to go to jail.”
He calls it a political case. A checkmark for Katz that will allow her to boast about getting guns off the street.
Meanwhile, “They’re ignoring the dangerous people committing crimes every day.”
People like David Mazariegos, who beat Nicola Tanzi to death in October after he kindly held a door open for him in the subway. Despite having two open felony cases, Mazariegos was given taxpayer-funded art “diversion” program for repeat criminals.
Or William Credle, who in 2023 sexually assaulted a 14-year-old but was ordered to undergo mental health treatment, only to go on to allegedly rape a 15-year-old in eerily similar circumstances in November. That case is yet to come to trial, but the examples could easily fill this page.
Even worse, Foehner’s social security benefits will stop while he’s in jail, and his wife of 20 years was just laid off from her job at a publishing company after 12 years. They have an online fundraiser to help defray the cost of his defense, but everything still feels so uncertain.
“We’re just sad and devastated,” Jenny told me. “It’s hard to grasp.”
Indeed, Foehner’s cruel and usual punishment is extremely difficult to wrap one’s head around.
Governor Hochul could pardon him, but Foehner has no hope in that. He does, however, still feel guilt.
“Whatever the circumstances are, a guy is dead because of me. Maybe I should have taken the beating [that night], but who knows where the beating stops.”
Let’s be honest, Foehner has been taking a beating from the system since he was arrested in 2023.
This isn’t justice. Sending a man like Foehner to prison is a crime in itself.
The Man is just amazing and the next time I am in the UK. I am going to buy a bottle and see how good it is! Grumpy
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Made my day that’s for sure!
The Spartan kick pic.twitter.com/rolELKpLa3
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