The New Zealand parliament has approved a bill severely curbing citizens' access to firearms in the wake of the Christchurch mosque attacks.
Ministers voted by 119 to one to approve the Bill, which was announced by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern days after a white nationalist gunman shot dead 50 people at two mosques in March.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The lone holdout was David Seymour, leader of the right-wing libertarian ACT Party and its only MP. Seymour had criticised the Bill, arguing that it had been rushed through parliament too quickly in a knee-jerk response to the massacre.
Before MPs voted, Ardern “took the unusual step” of speaking at the third reading of the Bill, says the New Zealand Herald.
The PM said that she had realised how important it was to reform the country’s gun law after learning that Christchurch shooter Brenton Tarrant had obtained his arsenal legally.
“I could not fathom how weapons that could cause such destruction and large-scale death could have been obtained legally in this country,” she told MPs.
New Zealanders have until 30 September to turn in any now-illegal firearms or parts and register for compensation under a government buy-back scheme.
Ardern said that the buy-back programme, projected to cost up to NZ$200m (£104m), was “the price that we must pay to ensure the safety of our communities”.
Announcing the measures last month, the PM said: “I strongly believe that the vast majority of legitimate gun owners in New Zealand will understand that these moves are in the national interest, and will take these changes in their stride.”
There are an estimated 1.5 million guns in New Zealand in total - “about one for every three citizens”, notes New Zealand news website Stuff. Around 13,500 of these guns are thought to be military-style semi-automatic weapons.
-
Strava vs. Garmin: the row splitting the running communityUnder The Radar The legal dispute between the two titans of exercise tech is like ‘Mom and Dad fighting’
-
Bad Bunny: Why MAGA is incensedFeature The NFL announced Latino artist Bad Bunny as the Super Bowl halftime headliner, sparking MAGA outrage
-
Supreme Court: Judging 20 years of RobertsFeature Two decades after promising to “call balls and strikes,” Chief Justice John Roberts faces scrutiny for reshaping American democracy
-
Sanae Takaichi: Japan’s Iron Lady set to be the country’s first woman prime ministerIn the Spotlight Takaichi is a member of Japan’s conservative, nationalist Liberal Democratic Party
-
Russia is ‘helping China’ prepare for an invasion of TaiwanIn the Spotlight Russia is reportedly allowing China access to military training
-
Interpol arrests hundreds in Africa-wide sextortion crackdownIN THE SPOTLIGHT A series of stings disrupts major cybercrime operations as law enforcement estimates millions in losses from schemes designed to prey on lonely users
-
China is silently expanding its influence in American citiesUnder the Radar New York City and San Francisco, among others, have reportedly been targeted
-
How China uses 'dark fleets' to circumvent trade sanctionsThe Explainer The fleets are used to smuggle goods like oil and fish
-
One year after mass protests, why are Kenyans taking to the streets again?today's big question More than 60 protesters died during demonstrations in 2024
-
What happens if tensions between India and Pakistan boil over?TODAY'S BIG QUESTION As the two nuclear-armed neighbors rattle their sabers in the wake of a terrorist attack on the contested Kashmir region, experts worry that the worst might be yet to come
-
Why Russia removed the Taliban's terrorist designationThe Explainer Russia had designated the Taliban as a terrorist group over 20 years ago
