New Zealand passes gun bill less than 1 month after Christchurch shootings

Jacinda Ardern.
(Image credit: Kai Schwoerer / Getty Images)
Tim O'Donnell
By
published

New Zealand's Parliament voted on Wednesday to ban military-style semi-automatic weapons less than one month after mass shootings at two mosques in Christchurch left 50 dead.

Just six days following the violence, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced she was introducing a change to the country's gun laws. Her bill passed easily, 119-1, and now only needs to be approved by the governor general to become law. That final step is expected to go ahead without hindrance, per the BBC. Ardern reportedly held back tears when she addressed Parliament on Wednesday, telling lawmakers they were acting for "the victims and families" of the Christchurch shootings.

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Tim O'Donnell
Tim O'Donnell

Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.

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