New Zealand’s prime minister has confirmed that the country is now banning military-style semi-automatic rifles and assault rifles following last week’s deadly mosque massacres. But that’s not all – anything that can modify weapons to fire more rapidly (like bump stocks) and so-called “high capacity” magazines will also be illegal as of 3pm local time today.
As we told you before, a gunman armed with assault rifles opened fire at two mosques in Christchurch last Friday, killing 50 people and injuring dozens of others. And with that in the rear view, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says the attack changed the country’s history forever and the law will have to change, too.
In a press conference, she explained that there will be a buyback program to compensate gun owners who turn in their weapons (the government needs to figure out how to fund it). In the meantime, the government is putting measures in place that allows gun owners to give their guns to police until the buyback program is finalized.
- New Zealanders have an estimated 1.2-1.5million firearms among their 5-million citizens. Police say they have “no idea” how many assault weapons are in circulation.
Source: The Guardian
