Assassin’s military-grade rifle readily available

THE deadly weapons used in the New Zealand mosque attack were high-powered pump-action semiautomatic rifles, similar to those used by police and the military.

These weapons have been banned in Australia since former prime minister John Howard’s action in the wake of the Port Arthur massacre.

But in New Zealand, these weapons are available and can be lawfully owned by anyone who holds a standard firearms licence.

The firearms do not even have to be registered, unlike the laws in Australia where all guns must be registered by their serial numbers.

The semiautomatic rifles have been used in many deadly mass shootings across the US and are capable of inflicting the most catastrophic of injuries.

New Zealand and the US are the only developed nations in the world without universal gun registration.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said she would be questioning the killer’s access to fire- arms. In the alleged killer’s warped manifesto he says he chose firearms over other weapons because of the media coverage it would attract.

“This conflict over the second amendment and the attempted removal of firearms rights will ultimately result in a civil war that will eventually Balkanize the US along political, cultural and, most importantly, racial lines,” he claimed.