Prominent gun advocate Nicole McKee chose to run for the ACT Party because she wants to bring "commonsense and practicalities" back into Government.
It was announced on Sunday that McKee, head of the Council of Licenced Firearms Owners, is placed third on the party's list, and she will stand for ACT in Rongotai - a seat currently held by Labour's Paul Eagle.
Since the Christchurch shooting last year, she's frequently appeared in the media to criticise the Government's gun reforms and the speed at which they were passed.
"I've been watching the erosion of a democratic process with our legislation over the last three years, and it's become incredibly frustrating to be one of those persons on the outside," she told Newshub.
She believes New Zealand's laws should be rooted in policies that recognise the democratic rights to think, speak and behave in a legal and unobstructed way.
"I thought I can't make any change from the outside and I want to be a voice on the inside. Really, it became a no-brainer [to run for ACT]. When I looked at ACT's policies, I could relate to those, I can relate to the values and principles of the party."
She was approached by ACT leader David Seymour to run for the party, and waited until she'd finished work with the Council of Licensed Firearms Owners before she formally accepted his offer.
"I am prepared to join them and fight with them to have some commonsense and practicalities put back into our Government.
"There needs to be some common-sense legislation in the firearms sector in Parliament, and I hope to bring that with the ACT Party."
She said it was a delightful surprise to be ranked third on the party's list.
"It was a nice surprise, and I also think I'd earned that with the ability that I have to be able to speak commonsense. So I'm pleasantly surprised at that high ranking."
ACT's full party list was released on Sunday. Seymour is ranked first, followed by deputy Brooke van Velden, who said she used to vote Green before studying economics at the University of Auckland.
Fourth on the list is Chris Baillie, "a small business owner, full-time secondary school teacher, former policeman of 14 years" who's into jazz.
Fifth is Simon Court, a civil and environmental engineer with a keen interest in getting rid of the Resource Management Act, and sixth is James McDowall, who describes himself as "sceptical of big government" and enjoys shooting pistols.
