The Christchurch massacre has convinced the New Zealand government to put an end to the free sale of weapons. Police: “Impossible to ignore reality.”
Just days after the terrible attack that struck two mosques in New Zealand, killing 50 people, the Wellington government decided to revise the rules governing the carrying of firearms.
New Zealand, in other words, has had a first-hand encounter with the social danger of the spread of firearms among the population. As reported by the international press, the right-wing extremist who opened fire on Muslim worshippers "had been able to equip himself without any difficulty whatsoever with a genuine arsenal".
"We cannot ignore the fact that the Australian white supremacist came to New Zealand to purchase weapons he would not have been able to obtain in his own country," said Chris Cahill, president of the police union. Thus, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced immediate restrictions, which will include in particular a ban on the sale of certain semi-automatic rifles.
At present, in the island nation all citizens over the age of 16 considered "of sound mind" are entitled to apply for a category "A" firearms licence. Sufficient to purchase assault weapons such as the AR-15s used in the Christchurch massacre. And according to statistics, in the vast majority of cases (99.6 per cent) the police approve licence applications.
Thus, in 2017 alone, as many as 45,000 firearms licence applications were lodged in New Zealand. "Today we have no idea who is purchasing these products, how many they are buying or where they are storing them," Cahill admitted. Hence the government's decision to introduce stricter legislation — which has already provoked an indignant reaction from the gun lobby.
