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Call for nail gun restrictions after death

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Call for nail gun restrictions after death

3News NZ

Nail guns fall under the same category as bolt or stud guns and under current law

Nail guns fall under the same category as bolt or stud guns and under current law

A coroner is recommending tighter restrictions on who can hire nail guns following the death of a Kapiti Coast man.

William McLay, 56, was found dead at his home in Paraparaumu in March 2009 with a wound from a nail gun.

The man's death has prompted Coroner Ian Smith to recommend that people who want to a hire nail guns be required to produce a licence to operate such equipment.

Nail guns fall under the same category as bolt or stud guns and under current law, such guns are exempt to the requirement that the holder have a firearms licence.

"I can accept that this is a difficult area to deal with and that it would be onerous to expect a firearm licence to be issued with respect to a Ramset/nail gun or something similar," Mr Smith said in his findings into Mr McLay's death.

"However, I do believe that the operator or hirer of such equipment should hold a licence to operate such a machine and be required to produce it at a hire centre."

Just as a person who wishes to hire a rental car must produce a copy of a driver's licence, then the same criteria should apply with respect to hiring of Ramset guns or the like, Mr Smith said.

The coroner has made his recommendation to the Minister of Consumer Affairs.

NZN

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Comments

1/08/2012 7:20:43 p.m.

LADY Victoria Darbyshire wrote:

Nail guns or Ramset Guns as they are called should fall under the licence of FIRE ARMS and be licenced as such.
After all these guns are used to fire nails at the similar speed as a bullet and bullets are used to make them fire therefore it is in fact a Firearm of sorts.

I lost my husband 25yrs ago when he was shot in the head with one of these dam things

1/08/2012 11:22:06 a.m.

jan wrote:

Good grief, will you have to produce a doctors certificate if you want to renovate your home if you want to hire one of the nail gun in case you are depressed and might kill your self?. Ridiculous. Still thanks for the story, so now all those who want voluntary euthanasia can now go and hire one of these nail guns instead of using medication or one of their relatives to kill them (with mercy) if only some of them had the strength to lift one. Look comment is tongue in cheek. That guy could of killed himself in so many ways eg in front of a train which would of freaked out the driver. At least this way it wasn't as bad. Still you get stories of people who survive accidents with a nail gun so it is not guaranteed it will work.