Gun control advocates always claim their latest proposals would have stopped violent maniacs from committing mass murders. After all, why would we not believe that someone ignoring laws against say, murder, wouldn’t follow yet another law against guns. That’s logical, right?
Unfortunately, that is not the case in reality. While the US might have its fair share of mass shootings [for many reasons besides the availability of guns], other nations with very strict gun control laws have some mind-blowingly bad mass shootings. Also, our mass shootings tend to be over pretty fast, rarely lasting more than a few minutes. Remember Mumbai, Paris, and now Christchurch. The latter lasted over 30 -minutes, but the priors dragged on for much longer with mass casualties in the hundreds. New Zealand has already enacted a laundry list of the gun-grabber’s favorites:
- Licensing required for all gun purchases; required to show “good cause”
- Handguns and “Assault weapons” require special permit and/or MSSA [Military-Style Semi-Automatic] endorsement. Requires “permission” from local law enforcement
- An “assault weapon” is vaguely defined by law, and encompasses basically any semi-automatic rifle… including rimfire rifles
- It is illegal to own a firearm for the purpose of “self-defense”. Will disqualify your license application
- All licencees are required to undergo standard training courses
- Citizens cannot carry a gun in public for self-defense
- Most police in NZ are not armed while on duty
- Firearms and ammo have to be locked up separately at home. Police must verify storage capabilities before a license is granted
There are many more laws in NZ where those came from, and they all seem to only serve as a burden to the law-abiding… as always.https://www.loc.gov/law/help/firearms-control/newzealand.php
It is valid to note that New Zealand has a very low murder rate, which could be related to many factors besides guns. These range from having a tiny population of less than 5 million people [less than our home State of Colorado], to a much lower rate of prescription drug use than we have in the US. Regardless, the NZ gun laws failed to stop a homicidal maniac from killing more people in 30-minutes than are murdered all year across the entire country.
It is also valid to note that New Zealand gun control laws have a history rooted in racism, just like the USA. The first gun control effort in NZ was enacted in the mid-19th century to keep the Maori from acquiring firearms. Much the same as the first gun control laws in the US came from the South, and were designed to keep blacks from owning guns.
For now, NZ Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern stated that NZ gun laws “will change”. After all, what better way to address a systemic failure than to do more of the same?