Assault weapon ban after attacks
New Zealand imposed a ban on assault weapons on Thursday, moving swiftly following the Christchurch massacre and triggering renewed calls from leading American politicians for gun controls in the US.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said assault rifles and semi-automatic weapons were now banned with immediate effect, making good on a pledge to the country over the military-style weapons used in last week’s slaughter of 50 people.
The killings at two Christchurch mosques by Australian white supremacist Brenton Tarrant have caused national soul-searching over New Zealand’s lax gun laws.
But the crackdown promises to have political repercussions beyond the country’s shores, including the US where gun control is one of the most divisive political issues.
Initial public reaction was positive in still-shocked New Zealand, where hundreds of people turned out for a second day for sombre funerals in Christchurch.
And more than 10,000 people marched silently on Thursday through the city where the alleged shooter in last week’s massacre had lived, as the country paid its respects to the 50 victims.
Marchers made their way through Dunedin to a rugby stadium, where a total of about 15,000 people eventually gathered for a sombre vigil, New Zealand media reported.
Tarrant, 28, had lived for the past two years in the city on New Zealand’s South Island before carrying out last Friday’s slaughter in Christchurch, about 350km to the north.
A self-avowed white supremacist, Tarrant took advantage of New Zealand’s relatively lax gun laws to acquire military-style semi-automatic weapons that he used to gun down worshippers at the two mosques.
The marchers were joined by thousands more who had made their way there for ceremonies that included Maori incantations and Muslim prayers.
Dunedin mayor Dave Cull called on New Zealanders to come together in support of those left bereft by the tragedy.
“We need to examine what needs to change so this does not happen again,” he said.
“To my Muslim brothers and sisters . . . you are a precious part of us and we embrace you.”
Ardern has said a national remembrance ceremony would be held soon but a date has not yet been given.
On Thursday, she said: “Every semi-automatic weapon used in the terrorist attack on Friday will be banned in this country.”
She said high-capacity magazines and devices similar to bump stocks – which allow users to fire weapons faster – would also be banned.
Proponents of gun control in the US and around the world praised the move and denounced the powerful US pro-gun lobby on social media, while American gun supporters defended their constitutional right to bear arms.
“This is what real action to stop gun violence looks like,” Democratic US Senator and presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders tweeted.
“We must follow New Zealand’s lead, take on the NRA [National Rifle Association] and ban the sale and distribution of assault weapons in the United States.”
High-profile Democratic congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez contrasted Ardern’s swift action with US failure to enact even modest controls following recurring horrific shootings, such as at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut in 2012, in which 20 children and six school staff members died.
“Sandy Hook happened six years ago and we can’t even get the Senate to hold a vote on universal background checks,” Ocasio-Cortez tweeted.
“Christchurch happened, and within days New Zealand acted to get weapons of war out of the consumer market.
“This is what leadership looks like.”
US President Donald Trump did not immediately react on his Twitter feed, but NRA spokesperson Dana Loesch responded to Sanders by tweeting that “the US isn’t NZ”.
“While they do not have an inalienable right to bear arms and to self-defence, we do,” she said.
Tarrant live-streamed the carnage in real-time, sparking worldwide revulsion and concern over access to guns and the use of social media by extremists.
Tarrant had written that he planned to use firearms for his attacks to encourage US gun control advocates to push for curbs, thus tearing open the bitter political debate.
New Zealand’s ban includes interim measures to prevent a run on such guns before legislation is enacted, and outlawing weapons already in private possession.
Guns are to be handed in and destroyed via a buyback scheme, costing between NZ$100m and NZ$200m (R981m and R1.9bn).