CNN responded to the heinous attacks in Christchurch by claiming that New Zealand’s gun control is too “lax.”
The CNN headline read, “Christchurch massacre highlights lax New Zealand gun control laws.”
They report that would-be gun owners must first acquire a license and undergo a background check, then suggest that New Zealand lacks firearm registration. They report, “Gun owners do need a license but they aren’t required to register their guns.”
CNN links to a New Zealand Police source citing no overarching registration requirement. However, CNN missed the fact that the New Zealand Police note a “specific endorsement” requirement for “each military style semiautomatic, pistol, and restricted weapon.” In other words, there is a means of registration required for certain types of weapons in New Zealand, and those types of weapons include handguns and some of the firearms used in the mosque attacks.
For example, University of Sydney’s GunPolicy.org reports, “In New Zealand, private possession of handguns (pistols and revolvers) is restricted to police-approved licensed gun owners with a ‘pistol’ licence endorsement. Each handgun must be registered to its owner and securely stored.”
Moreover, New Zealand keeps a registry of every resident licensed to own a gun. According to GunPolicy, “In New Zealand, authorities maintain a record of individual civilians licensed to acquire, possess, sell or transfer a firearm or ammunition.”
AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com. Sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange.
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