Jacinda Ardern asks New Zealanders to surrender their semi-automatic weapons and vows to introduce sweeping gun reforms within ten days
- Stricter gun laws will be introduced in New Zealand after last weeks terror attack
- Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern urged Kiwis to hand in semi-automatic weapons
- The proposed changes come after 50 people were murdered at two mosques
Jacinda Ardern has confirmed New Zealand will toughen its gun laws after 50 people were murdered in a terror attack at two mosques in Christchurch.
New Zealand’s Prime Minister has encouraged Kiwis to surrender their semi-automatic weapons through a voluntary amnesty, as the government works through changes to firearm laws over the next week.
‘To make our community safer, the time to act is now,’ she told reporters on Monday.
New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern (pictured) has encouraged Kiwis to surrender their semi-automatic weapons through a voluntary amnesty, as the government works through changes to firearm laws over the next week
Semi-automatic assault rifles are expected to be banned in New Zealand, and gun owners are likely to face much more stringent registration requirements
The proposed changes come alleged gunman Brenton Tarrant used five weapons – two semiautomatic rifles, a lever-action firearm and two shotguns – and stormed two mosques, killing 50 people and injuring dozens more.
New Zealand’s cabinet has agreed in-principle to a range of gun reforms, but Ms Ardern would not be drawn on the detail.
The proposed changes will be announced before cabinet meets again next week.
Semi-automatic assault rifles are expected to be banned in New Zealand, and gun owners are likely to face much more stringent registration requirements.
‘There are details to work through,’ Ms Ardern said.
‘These aren’t simple areas of law, so that’s simply what we’ll be taking the time to get right.’
Tougher gun laws come after 50 people were murdered in a terror attack at two mosques in Christchurch
Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters endorsed the plan.
‘At 1pm on the 15th of March our world changed forever, and so will our gun laws,’ Mr Peters said.
New Zealand amended its gun laws in 1992, after the Aramoana massacre of November 1990, which saw 13 people shot dead in a small township near Dunedin, following a neighbourhood dispute.
Background checks and special permits were introduced 26 years ago, however New Zealand lacks a national gun registry.
New Zealand’s gun lobby thwarted attempts to reform gun laws in 1999, 2005, 2012 and 2017.
Australia banned automatic and semi-automatic assault rifles following the Port Arthur massacre in Tasmania, where 35 people were killed.