New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced a semiautomatic firearms ban Thursday, making clear the ban was “just the beginning.”
Ardern announced a ban on military-style semiautomatics, certain gun parts, and “high capacity” magazines, among other things. The Arms (Military Style Semi-automatic Firearms) Order 2019 defines such guns as:
A semi-automatic firearm that is capable of being used in combination with a detachable magazine (other than one designed to hold 0.22-inch or less rimfire cartridges) that is capable of holding more than 5 cartridges.
A semi-automatic firearm that is a shotgun and that is capable of being used in combination with a detachable magazine that is capable of holding more than 5 cartridges.
Ardern also suggested there are “loopholes” in New Zealand gun laws that remain and must be addressed. She said, “On Monday, cabinet will receive and consider further amendments to our gun laws.” She assured gun owners that the amendments would go through a more rigorous debate process than the gun ban did:
She summarized the actions undertaken by the New Zealand government, saying, “This is just the beginning of the work we need to do.”
The Christchurch attacker possessed five firearms at the time of the mosque attacks. Two of those firearms were semiautomatics. The attacker was a licensed gun owner who acquired his firearms legally.
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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