NZ tightens gun laws
FAST ACTION: LAWS BANNING MILITARY-STYLE WEAPONS BY APRIL 11
These moves are in the national interest, says Prime Minister Ardern.
Christchurch
New Zealand will ban military-style semiautomatic and assault rifles under tough new gun laws, following the killing of 50 people in the country’s worst mass shooting, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said yesterday.
In the immediate aftermath of last Friday’s shootings at two mosques in Christchurch, Ardern labelled the attack as terrorism and said New Zealand’s gun laws would change.
“On March 15, our history changed forever. Now, our laws will too. We are announcing action today on behalf of all New Zealanders to strengthen our gun laws and make our country a safer place,” she told a new conference.”
Ardern said she expects the new laws to be in place by April 11 and a buyback scheme will be established for banned weapons.
The buyback would cost up to NZ$200 million (R1.9 billion).
All military style semiautomatics (MSSA) and assault rifles would be banned, along with parts used to convert weapons into MSSAs and all high-capacity magazines.
Under existing New Zealand gun laws, a standard A-category gun licence allows semiautomatics limited to seven shots. Livestreamed video of the gunman in one of the mosques showed a semiautomatic weapon modified with a large magazine.
Australia banned semiautomatic weapons and launched a gun buyback after the Port Arthur massacre in 1996 in which 35 people were gunned down.
Ardern said, similar to Australia, the new gun laws will allow for strictly enforced exemptions for farmers to conduct pest control and animal welfare.
“I strongly believe that the vast majority of legitimate gun owners in New Zealand will understand that these moves are in the national interest, and will take these changes in their stride.”
New Zealand, a country of less than five million people, has an estimated 1.2 to 1.5 million firearms, around 13 500 of them MSSA.
Most farmers in the South Pacific country own guns, which they use for killing pests such as possums and rabbits, and for putting down injured stock. Recreational hunting is popular.
That has created a powerful lobby which has thwarted previous attempts to tighten gun laws after other mass shootings in New Zealand and overseas. – Reuters