Less than one month after a gunman killed 50 people at a mosque in Christchurch, the New Zealand Parliament voted Wednesday to ban most semi…
Less than one month after a gunman killed 50 people at a mosque in Christchurch, the New Zealand Parliament voted Wednesday to ban most semi-automatic and military-style weapons.
The law makes it illegal to possess the prohibited weapons in New Zealand. Current owners of the now-banned firearms will have until the end of September to return their weapons for compensation under a buyback program. If they don’t return them, they could face up to five years in prison.
Speaking before lawmakers, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said she knew her country would approve a ban after the police commissioner described the deadly nature of the guns used in the attack, which had been obtained legally and easily modified to hold more than 60 bullets per magazine.
„I could not fathom how weapons that could cause such destruction and large scale death, could have been obtained legally in this country,“ Ardern said.
She described visits to hospitals where dozens of victims are still recovering.
„I struggle to recall any single gunshot wounds,“ she said.
