Gun Bans, Grab ( Collection) in New Zealand Begin: Predictably, guns get blame for Christchurch:
UPDATE VOA NEWS By Phil Mercer
New Zealand has held its first public fire-arms collection event in Christchurch Saturday as part of the government’s response to the city’s mosque shootings in March. Ownership of the types of high-powered weapons used in the attacks that killed 51 people has been restricted.
There were long lines at a racecourse in Christchurch as gun-owners waited to hand in weapons that are now illegal. It is the first of more than 250 buy-back events that will be held across New Zealand. The police expect that tens of thousands of guns will be surrendered, although the exact number is unknown.
Semi-automatic weapons were outlawed following attacks on two mosques in Christchurch that left 51 people dead. The government said the law would remove the most dangerous guns from the community.
Chris Cahill, from the New Zealand Police Association, which represents officers, believes the buy-back scheme will go smoothly.
“We know the vast majority of firearms owners are law-abiding citizens,” said Cahill. “While disappointed they have to lose these sorts of firearms they understand why and they want to abide by the law.”
More than $130 million has been set aside to compensate owners of semi-automatic weapons. The amount each individual will receive will depend on the value and condition of their guns.
But some owners are complaining that the compensation is inadequate. There are concerns, too, that farming communities, which rely on firearms for hunting and pest control, will suffer because of the ban on military-style semi-automatic weapons.
New Zealand authorities hope the scheme will be as successful as one in Australia that was implemented after the Port Arthur massacre in 1996 on the island of Tasmania, where a lone gunman murdered 35 people. It prompted more than 700,000 weapons to be surrendered.
The Australian man accused of the Christchurch shootings has denied 51 charges of murder, 40 counts of attempted murder and a terrorism charge. He is expected to go on trial next year.
Predictably, guns get blame for Christchurch as terror hits Netherlands
By Dave Workman March 18 2019
As predictable as the sunrise, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is promising tougher gun laws in the wake of last week’s mass shooting at two different mosques in Christchurch, while another possible terror attack on the far side of the earth offers further evidence that determined killers ignore gun laws, regardless how strict.
Dutch police were hunting for a murder suspect in the Monday tram shooting in The Netherlands.
Netherlands gun laws are much stricter than those in the U.S., according to a Wikipedia description.
Netherlands gun laws are much stricter than those in the U.S., according to a Wikipedia description.
This begs the question: Has anyone thought to blame the perpetrators? Fifty people are dead and all Ardern and her government can think of is to penalize the gun–owning citizens who didn’t do the killing.
As NPR reported, the New Zealand government “has agreed ‘in principle’ to tighten gun control laws.” Prime Minister Ardern has promised the upcoming changes “will make the country safer.”
And, the story noted, they’re calling this an effort to “reform gun laws.”
LMT Online, picking up a story from the Washington Post, perhaps most accurately describes the situation.
“The estimated quarter of a million gun owners across this largely quiet, peaceful South Pacific country, many of them dedicated hunters, are bracing for what are likely to be significant reforms to New Zealand’s firearm laws,” the report states. “Leaders have hinted the changes will impact the proliferation and availability of semiautomatic weapons in particular.”
Has anyone been talking much about the courageous man at the second mosque who apparently was able to wrestle or take a gun away from the suspect and open fire? That part of the story seems to have largely disappeared.
Meanwhile, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte is quoted by the Associated Press declaring that Monday’s tram shooting was “very worrying.” But the safe money is betting on not whether, but when, the Dutch government will also blame firearms for the shooting.
Anti-gunners in the U.S. are also trying to capitalize on the tragedy.
The Seattle-based Alliance for Gun Responsibility was out with a statement declaring that, “What happened in Christchurch should be a reminder to all of us. This fight to end gun violence isn’t just about our own loved ones, our own communities, or even our own country. It’s a problem that cuts across time and borders. And future generations are counting on us to get it right. To stop it for good.”
Translation: Citizen disarmament is a worldwide goal.
But coming in on the other side of that argument were the Second Amendment Foundation and Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms with a joint statement. CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb called the mosque attacks “an outrage against peaceful people everywhere.” But he added a perspective that is too often lost on the establishment media.
“What happened Friday in Christchurch should remind us all that no nation, no community is immune from violent terrorism,” Gottlieb observed. “If anything, this despicable act underscores the importance of our right to keep and bear arms, and provides ample justification of our right to carry now exercised by millions of law-abiding citizens who choose not to be victims, whether at the hands of a thug or terrorist.”
He said that there is no good explanation for disarming law-abiding citizens in the wake of such an attack. All that does is take guns from the wrong people.
Gottlieb recognized the desire to “do something,” but warned that the Second Amendment is “not negotiable.”