After a mosque shooting in New Zealand last week that killed fifty people, New Zealand announced that they intended to change some gun laws. Since then 37 firearms have been surrendered voluntarily to the police across the nation. New Zealand estimates that there are 1.2 million guns registered to civilians in the country. [1]
Laws will Change
Last week New Zealand law enforcement got a call to stop a gunman, who is the suspected murderer, who was fleeing a scene of 50 dead people at two mosques in Christchurch. The murder suspect was then arrested and an investigation has since ensued. [2]
“I can tell you one thing right now: Our gun laws will change,” [3] New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told the press at a conference on Saturday, after the shooting.
She continued, saying that the suspected shooter used five guns and that he had obtained a license for the guns in November of 2017, which allowed him to buy the guns legally and safely. “That will give you an indication of why we need to change our gun laws,” she said. Arden finished by encouraging citizens to surrender their firearms to local police.
Businesses aren’t Selling
The New Zealand Police Commissioner Mike Bush stated that he was “very happy to hear the prime minister’s comments this morning that there will be a change in the gun law.” Multiple companies that sell firearms have removed them from their shelves since the shooting.
Hunting & Fishing New Zealand- a chain of over 30 stores that sell hunting equipment- said that it planned on getting rid of all military-style assault weapons from their shelves. An auction and classified ad site announced that it was stopping any sales of semiautomatic firearms.
Even Civilians are Taking Part
Civilians have also taken to turning their guns over to the police. Authorities report that 37 firearms have been turned in so far.
Until today I was one of the New Zealanders who owned a semi-automatic rifle. On the farm they are a useful tool in some circumstances, but my convenience doesn’t outweigh the risk of misuse.
We don’t need these in our country.
We have make sure it’s #NeverAgain pic.twitter.com/crLCQrOuLc
— John Hart (@farmgeek) March 18, 2019
Hart stated that it was “an easy decision” surrender his semi-automatic as the cost of not having it “was completely outweighed by the risk of another massacre.”
Will stricter gun laws actually help reduce mass shooting? Will murderers give up their firearms voluntarily?
Notes:
- ^Nashrulla, Tasneem. “New Zealand’s Gun Owners Voluntarily Surrendered 37 Firearms Since The Christchurch Mosque Shootings.” BuzzFeed News, 20 Mar. 2019, www.buzzfeednews.com/article/tasneemnashrulla/new-zealand-gun-owners-surrender-guns-christchurch-attack. (go back ↩)
- ^Sacks, Brianna. “New Zealand Police Say They Stopped The Mosque Shooter From Carrying Out Another Attack.” BuzzFeed News, 20 Mar. 2019, www.buzzfeednews.com/article/briannasacks/new-zealand-police-stopped-gunman-another-attack. (go back ↩)
- ^Baer, Stephanie K. “Christchurch Mosque Attack: Gun Laws Will Change, New Zealand Prime Minister Says.” BuzzFeed News, 16 Mar. 2019, www.buzzfeednews.com/article/skbaer/new-zealand-gun-laws-mosque-attack. (go back ↩)
