Ardern vows gun law reform after mosque massacre

CHRISTCHURCH (AFP) — New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern yesterday vowed to toughen the country’s gun laws after revealing that the alleged shooter behind Christchurch’s mosque attacks had legally bought the five weapons, including two semi-automatic rifles, used in the massacre.

The nation’s firearms laws are lax compared with that of neighboring Australia, which enacted a strict gun control regime in the wake of a similar massacre in 1996.

Ardern said 28-year-old Australian Brenton Tarrant obtained a “Category A” gun license in November 2017, which allowed him to purchase the weapons used to mow down worshippers in two Christchurch mosques.

Some of the guns appeared to have been modified to make them more deadly, according to the prime minister, adding that a ban on semi-automatic weapons would be considered.

“The mere fact...that this individual had acquired a gun license and acquired weapons of that range, then obviously I think people will be seeking change, and I’m committing to that,” she told a press conference.

“I can tell you one thing right now – our gun laws will change,” she emphasized.

Ardern confirmed that the suspected gunman and two associates who were also arrested had not been on the radar of any intelligence agencies for extremism.

“I have asked our agencies this morning to work swiftly on assessing whether there was any activity on social media or otherwise, that should have triggered a response. That work is already underway,” she said.

New Zealand Police Association head Chris Cahill welcomed Ardern’s comments and said previous attempts to introduce gun controls had failed partly because of diehard opponents to reform.

“I believe many New Zealanders will be aghast that in our country, someone can amass a cache of weapons like that discovered in this Christchurch tragedy,” Cahill said in a statement.

“There is no place in the upcoming debate for the radical gun lobby which has made its presence felt in previous attempts to make our country safer,” he added.

Cahill highlighted the “bitter irony” that the alleged Australian shooter would not have been able to buy the same weapons in his home country.

At least one of the weapons used by Tarrant was reportedly an AR15 – the same semi-automatic rifle used in a number of mass shootings in the United States, including the 2012 Sandy Hook school killings in Connecticut.

Families of the Sandy Hook victims were recently given the green light to sue US gunmaker Remington for knowingly marketing a military grade weapon that is “grossly unsuited” for civilian use and has become the gun of choice for mass killings.