Keith Locke's call for gun registration maintains the Greens' usual faith in government  It follows last week's Sunday Star Times 'expose' of how many firearms are circulating. But both come at a curious time.

Because New Zealand's law has just been praised  by the authors of an international survey of firearms law, and firearms murder rates. The Herald's story on that study knocks the stuffing out of the efforts of Mr Locke and the SST.

Sadly for  Taupo's Jeremy Graves a willingness to look at the law and the evidence together is still too much for the Police to handle. Mr Graves was charged and convicted of assault for pointing an unloaded air pistol with a laser dot aiming device at Police who entered his home in the night.  A neighbour called Police when he heard glass smashing. Mr Graves broke into his own house after losing his key.

What a pity the Police did not laugh with Graves in relief on finding the mistake, since his laser dot on the 'intruders' was very effective.  Sadly they easily find judges willing to ignore the Crimes Act provisions on self defence, our history, and why people feel it is better to risk Police persecution in court than the fate of so many people who've suffered criminal home invasions. These judges uncritically apply not the law, but the unlawful Police policy that only they should be allowed to defend themselves with weapons that minimise the risk of the innocent defender coming off worst.

I suspect that Mr Graves would win an appeal. No doubt the Police can count on it being too expensive.

The  judge was silly enough to opine that Mr Graves would have been within his rights to use a baseball bat on the Police. How is that better than scaring them into properly identifying themselves with the red spot of a laser sighting device?