The Council of Licensed Firearms Owners

Following an attack on a Kawhia police officer by a group of men in January 2013,[8] the Police Association called for police officers to be armed.

Police Commissoner Peter Marshall rejected the plea, saying it was "not a time for political point-scoring exercises".[9]
Notable groups
Government groups

The New Zealand Police are responsible for enforcing the Arms Act and various unofficial government policies (such as not increasing the number of E-category registered MSSAs beyond about 8,500).[1] The Police tend to lobby around their own access to guns, as the service does not routinely carry sidearms. However all patrol cars currently carry a M4 carbine in a lockbox in the boot of the vehicle, and often a glocknade in a locked glovebox.
Outdoor safety

The New Zealand Mountain Safety Council is a federation of organisations with an interest in outdoor safety, including a number of sporting groups, DOC, the New Zealand Police and Defence Force, OSH and ACC.[10] It is responsible for safety education,[11] and volunteers run the safety courses taken by firearms licence applicants.[12] It also runs more specialised courses on hunting safely, first aid, and other outdoor recreational safety issues.
Pro-Gun groups

The Council of Licensed Firearms Owners (COLFO) was set up in 1996.

The Sporting Shooters Association of New Zealand is a part-time lobby group that is usually only active at elections and when there are government calls for gun control laws. It is smaller than COLFO. Opinions vary on how "radical" vs. how "soft" these two organisations are.[citation needed]

access to firearms.

The National Shooters Association is a nationwide civilian gun owners association that took the forefront in a 2009 legal challenge against unauthorised police interference with gun regulations. Its executive is largely made up of former members the Practical Shooting Institute, a predecessor group which had similar success bringing court action against Police interference in 1990.
Anti-Gun groups

The two major anti-gun groups in recent years have been the Coalition for Gun Control, and Gunsafe NZ. Neither is still active, but were led by activist Philip Alpers and Mike Meyrick, a former police officer and lawyer.[13]

Alpers now works for the University of Sydney, promoting anti-gun policies across the Tasman.
Political parties

The main parties, Labour and National, generally treat gun control as a bi-partisan issue. Both support the passage of the Arms Amendment (No. 3) Bill[citation needed].

The ACT[citation needed] and Libertarianz parties advocate the ownership of guns for self-defence.[14]

The Outdoor Recreation party was formed in 2001 to support hunting and sport fishing. It failed to gain any seats in 2002, and again in 2005, when, with the United Future party, it contested the election.

The Progressive Party and Green Party both support an increase in legislative restrictions on public access to firearms.[15][16]

The New Zealand First Party supports the right of New Zealanders to own and use firearms safely and responsibly for hunting, sport, pest control, target shooting, and other lawful purposes. The Party does not support calls for universal gun registration, preferring the licencing of individual users. New Zealand First believes restrictions on firearms ownership by type should be dictated by functionality rather than appearance.
Private Sales