Brian Tamaki to take police, politicians to court over gun licence ban
Destiny Church leader Brian Tamaki has vowed to pursue legal action against “the police and politicians” he claims are behind his recent gun licence removal and firearms ban.
Taking to social media on Saturday, Tamaki revealed police had permanently revoked his firearms licence on Friday, which he alleged stemmed from his criticism of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“After holding a firearms licence for many years without issue, police have now decided I am no longer a ‘fit and proper person’,” he wrote.
Speaking at Destiny Church yesterday, Tamaki lamented not removing thermal sight technology from his guns before they were seized – estimating they were worth around $50,000 – but downplayed his concerns, saying his “life is not dependent” on guns.
“Losing my licence, who cares?”
However, Tamaki said this morning he would take the decision to court, arguing the crackdown was politically motivated and hypocritical in light of police’s decision not to investigate a recent protest where an effigy of Foreign Minister Winston Peters was “given the chop” in a mock execution.
Brian Tamaki has vowed to take "the police and politicians" to court over after his firearms licence was permanently revoked. Photo / Jason Dorday
“Police invade my home without notice, revoke my firearms licence for life, can’t shoot again even under the supervision of a licensed firearms holder, and never to ‘hold a gun in my hands again’.
“Wow.. what for? It wasn’t for anything I did, it was what I said!!! Let that sink in.”
Tamaki claimed that he is “considered dangerous because I’m telling the the [sic] truth boldly and consistently”.
“I have contacted my lawyers and intend on taking the police and politicians involved in this plot to court.”
Police initially served Tamaki a “temporary firearms licence suspension notice” at his home on June 30, seizing several firearms while the Destiny Church leader livestreamed the action.
That move was triggered by incendiary online comments Tamaki made in the days prior, in which he referenced using a shotgun to protect his family and called for the “purging” of certain religious groups from New Zealand.
At the time of the seizure, authorities said they were investigating whether Tamaki remained a “fit and proper person” to possess firearms.
A “threatening video” posted by Tamaki last week, in which he spoke out against organisations and individuals considered to be “evil” and on “heaven’s hit list” during a Destiny Church meeting, was later confirmed to be under police investigation.
The following day, Tamaki’s wife Hannah said police had returned to their property to remove her husband’s gun safe from their shed.
“The guys came and took it away last night,” she wrote on Facebook.
“There are so many injustices happening. Some will say good. But the hunters and gun owners know that many gun owners have been targeted.”
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