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© Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.After mosque attacks, New Zealand quickly bans assault weapons
By JULIET WILLIAMS and NICK PERRY CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand©2025 GPlusMedia Inc.
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Viktor Cernatinskij
I totally applaud this ban. Very good! Smart people in New Zealand elected smart politicians!!
I wish US does not have so many morons that elect useless incompetent politicians...
PTownsend
Hats off to this business and all New Zealanders responsible for taking action.
New Zealand must not have a lobbying organization like the US's NRA which cares jack for public safety, only for increasing the profits of the guns and ammo industries.
New Zealand also must not have politicians who get huge sums of money from the guns and ammo industries.
Gorramcowboy
This is how it's done 'Merica.
Chicanoinjapan
*You rock New Zealand!
Jimizo
Getting rid of assault weapons seems to be a good idea.
Is there any reason for members of the public to own these weapons?
jcapan
Coincidentally a common argument made by slave owners.
wtfjapan
Question is can NZ actually prevent crazies/terrorists from getting them illegally?
Australia has shown they can, at least greatly reduce the amount of massacre and gun violence. The main reason the Australian gunman choose Christchurch is Australians dont need a visas to live and work in NZ and viseversa and assault weapons have been banned in Australia since 1996, the gunman was able to get them legally in NZ .
Toasted Heretic
Fine by me. But this happened in NZ and the PM has acted accordingly.
Haaa Nemui
I won't get shot and I won't be executed for a crime I didn't commit. I can't complain about that.
Toasted Heretic
A true world leader, bound for villification by those who cannot lead, show bravery or dignity.
Thunderbird2
These weapons should never be in public hands anyway, so well done NZ PM... America take note.
It's a small step towards a gun-free society, but a step in the right direction all the same.
ClippetyClop
So you enjoy not having guns around in Japan, but value having guns around in the US? Does that mean that you enjoy Japan's lack of gun crime but don't mind it when you go home?
CrazyJoe
New Zealand's reaction to this tragedy is what true leaders should do. Instead of thoughts and prayers, they are actually doing something to help curb the violence. A lesson our leaders should take heed of when they address this same issue here. New Zealand's leadership have shown true compassion and moral courage in their responses.
I'm so envious, I wish we had a leader that would be this eloquent and classy. Instead we have the orange monster.
Stop!Hammertime.
Bugle Boy,
"In general, assault weapons are semiautomatic firearms with a large magazine of ammunition that were designed and configured for rapid fire and combat use."[3] The origin of the term has been attributed to legislators, gun control groups, the media and the firearms industry.[1][4][5][6][7] It is sometimes conflated with the term "assault rifle", which refers to selective-fire military rifles that can fire in automatic or burst mode.[5]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assault_weapon
But yeah, they got to define it propely.
ClippetyClop
Then goes on to label people Left or Right. Everyone must be one or the other. You can't help yourself, can you?
Stop!Hammertime.
True, like Japan right? Not much gun violence here though. Comparing to america
Black Sabbath
Ban all automatic and semi automatic weapons.
Ban all magazines with more than 10 bullets.
Ban them now.
nishikat
I don't recall any black mass shooters praising Louis Farrakhan like the NZ shooter. In fact I don't hear about him at all, except for Trump2AWhiteKKKWeThePeopleEvangelicalChristian people who obsess over Farrakhan and who think this NZ shooting was 100% Obama/Hillary's fault. Trump voters say that all mass shooting are the result of "Crooked Hillary"
I guess Farrakhan has a big mouth, but when blacks start mass shooting white evangelical Trump churches while referring to Farrakhan then I will start agreeing with you. Who cares what Farrakhan (who does not hold public office) is saying. But Trump (who is the leader of the world) is making people shoot other people like this NZ shooter.
PROOF
The 74-page dossier, which has been described by Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison as a "work of hate", hailed Trump as "a symbol of renewed white identity and common purpose".
(news source)
Proof that Trump promotes hate and his White evangelical Christian followers are listening and acting on it.
nishikat
Didn't they have security? Sounds like it was security's fault if they could not even fight off a Bernie Liberal with a gun. They need better security people.
Laguna
Good first step, but why not ban all semi-autos?
Chip Star
New Zealand doesn't have a Second Amendment. Different country. It ain't never goin away.
wtfjapan
Founding father Benjamin Franklin once said, “Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.”
and yet many democratic countries that ban guns are considerable safer to live than in the US and their democracies arguably better represent their people. America's founding fathers may be all and end all for many Americans but their views certainly dont hold true for the many other democratic societies of the world. The world has changed considerably in the last 2~300yrs and many countries have adapted their constitutions and basic democratic principles as a result, many but not all.
Black Sabbath
Good.
Someday we'll do the same in in my country.
ClippetyClop
By your straw man logic no laws or punishments are effective as criminals aren't concerned by either.
Not all countries want America's murder rate or disregard for human life no matter how much you want a partner in misery.
Toasted Heretic
The terrorist is a right wing white nationalist, though. Blaming the left is dishonest.
nishikat
OK, sorry, we stand corrected, he violently assaulted and killed a Mosque full of worshipers with a Rapid fire rifle that can hold many more bullets than a handgun whose bullets tear up the body much more than a handgun bullet. (reference by US trauma surgeons who are medical doctors).
Again, we apologize for calling them assault rifles. From now on they will be referred to as a:
Rapid fire rifle that can hold many more bullets than a handgun whose bullets tear up the body much more than a handgun bullet.
How well did this work in the Orlando nighclub shooting? Because there were armed security there - REALLY!!. Maybe those armed security need to be armed with ASSAULT RIFLES to take on the Rapid fire rifle that can hold many more bullets than a handgun whose bullets tear up the body much more than a handgun bullet. that he possessed. Please do tell.
Then these ASSAULT RIFLES should be legalized in order to fight against a Rapid fire rifle that can hold many more bullets than a handgun whose bullets tear up the body much more than a handgun bullet.
Don't you think? School teachers included?
Stop!Hammertime.
Its a good beginning but there’s still way to go. They have to define exactly what weapons are banned or ok, and there will be opposition, when more details of the law get known. I hope they are careful.
https://thespinoff.co.nz/politics/21-03-2019/define-firearms-ban-carefully-to-defeat-gun-lobby-expert-warns/
mukashiyokatta
Hang your heads in shame, America -- you are now officially "The Country That Cannot Get Things Done."
jcapan
We have no more morons than any other country. And our politicians aren't incompetent either. They're corrupt.
Wolfpack
Proof from the shooters own manifesto:
He also condemns capitalism and states that his views are closest to communist China. Yet the Left is obsessed with tying this confused nut to Conservatives but especially Trump. What’s the point?
TIJ
BTW, I live in Japan and enjoy not having guns around, and I don't try to change Japan's gun laws. BUT I also value the US's 2nd-Amendment. Different countries, different laws.
Daniel Donaldson
Criminals: "Oh, ok! We know we don't obey laws, but we'll totally comply with this one."
William Bjornson
It's sad that a debate of this importance focuses so much on the means and so little on the motivation, Human insanity instilled by ignorance and political manipulation.There are countries where many people own guns (e.g. Switzerland) and do not shoot each other. There are countries where people don't own guns and who find other means such as knife attacks against grammar schools or vehicle attacks against pedestrians or ... The gun debate is a red herring which obscures the real issue, very sick cultures who continually produce members pushed to the extreme edges of behavior by the fear and hatred induced in them by psychopaths seeking gain in power, wealth, position in their imagined hierarchy. It is not the guns, it is US. We hide behind "The Guns" as CAUSE (?) and no deficiency in the efficiency of gun, knife, rock to the head will stop the real causes until we look our own species wide cultural insanity in the face. But, that will be for the future archaeologists of some other species to do, I guess. We no longer have the cranial capacity for such self honesty.
kabukideath
When you own a weapon and can defend yourself and your rights, you are a citizen. When you do not, you are a subject.
knight_of_Honour
There were no so called assault weapons involved, there were semi auto rifles. An Assault weapon is a machine gun and are outlawed everywhere except for military and police. Anti gun people use the term to make semi auto rifles sound more menacing. Anyplace guns are outlawed the crime rate is higher. Except for some large Democrat run cities like New York, Los Angeles, Seattle, Washington, D.C., and especially Chicago in the USA the crime rates are very low compared to most countries. Those are areas where most citizens are not armed to protect themselves.
ozziedesigner
Founding father Benjamin Franklin once said, “Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.”
Founder Thomas Jefferson added, “Enlighten the people, generally, and tyranny and oppressions of body and mind will vanish like spirits at the dawn of day.”
Amen
TIJ
@Reckless
That's right. And I keep telling gun-grabbers not all countries need to have the same laws. Seems those that are anti-gun are pro-government. So it's actually a pro vs anti-government issue.
Wolfpack
I was thinking the same thing. But Left wing identitarianism and environmental extremists like the New Zealand shooter will continue to cause divisions until we all can begin to treat each other by the content of our character instead of by the color of our skin (or any other demographic grouping). In his manifesto the terrorist specifically stated that he did not support Trump but instead
Serrano
Hang your heads in shame, America -- you are now officially "The Country That Cannot Get Things Done."
That statement has no basis in reality.
Wolfpack
Ok, you missed the point I was trying to make that it isn’t easy to label people Right or Left because in reality human beings are more complex than simple answers can describe. Along with being an environmental nut the shooter also wants to ban guns. These are Leftists positions. In addition, the shooter is a racial identitarian, a point of view rejected by the Right and part of the mainstream Left. The difference being of course is that among the Left, Whites are on the bottom and for the shooter they are on top.
It is interesting that you mention Hitler because even though he was fascist, the core of fascism is within the modern Social Democrat Lefts’ playbook. Democratic socialism, racial identity politics and social policy, control by centralized experts, and heavy regulation on the private sector with the intention of utilizing private companies for the greater good of society.
Wolfpack
Actually I used the commonly understood meaning of the words Left and Right and pointed out that the shooter didn’t fit neatly into either category. If by people you mean the shooter then yes, I did label him based on my understanding of how he labeled himself in his own manifesto. But I guess you couldn’t help asserting a non sequitor, could you?
Bugle Boy of Company B
Okay, what's an assault weapon? Did this ban just say, "Okay, guys, no more assault weapons!" or did they spell out what they meant by "assault weapons"?
bass4funk
I definitely agree with that.
Never, no reason to. I keep mine high. Every country has their own rules. I love ours and others might like theirs and that’s all there is to it.
Daniel Donaldson
Hitler, Mao, Stalin, Lenin, Pol Pot and countless other socialist and communist despots banned guns, before slaughtering 100 million of their own people.
Thinking criminals will obey laws is lunacy. It is the belief of irrational children.
Murder is illegal, but it didn't stop this subhuman from shooting up a Mosque.
All you do is disarm law-abiding people who want to protect themselves or their family.
alwaysspeakingwisdom
Ban guns and Ban the death penalty= Really dumb
Serrano
Agree with the assault weapon ban. Question is can NZ actually prevent crazies/terrorists from getting them illegally?
TIJ
@Jimizo
If it is legal to own them, they want to own them, and only own them for defense, yes. And it's none of your business. If you don't want 'members of the public' to have firearms, don't live in the US or any of the other many countries that allow gun ownership. Not every country needs to have the same laws.