Global EditionASIA 中文雙語Fran?ais
World
Home / World / Asia-Pacific

New Zealand bans sales of assault, semi-automatic rifles

Updated: 2019-03-21 10:14
Share
Share - WeChat

CHRISTCHURCH - New Zealand will ban military-style semi-automatic and assault rifles under tough new gun laws following the killing of 50 people in its worst mass shooting, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Thursday.

In the immediate aftermath of last Friday's shootings at two mosques in the city of Christchurch, Ardern labelled the attack as terrorism and said New Zealand's gun laws would change.

"On 15 March our history changed forever. Now, our laws will too. We are announcing action today on behalf of all New Zealanders to strengthen our gun laws and make our country a safer place," Ardern told a news conference.

"All semi-automatic weapons used during the terrorist attack on Friday 15 March will be banned."

Ardern said she expected the new laws to be in place by April 11 and a buy-back scheme costing up to NZ$200 million ($138 million) would be established for banned weapons.

All military style semi-automatics (MSSA) and assault rifles would be banned, along with parts used to convert weapons into MSSAs and all high-capacity magazines.

Under existing gun laws, a standard A-category gun license allows semi-automatics limited to seven shots. Live-streamed video of a gunman in one of the mosques showed a semi-automatic weapon modified with a large magazine.

Australia banned semi-automatic weapons and launched a gun buy-back after the Port Arthur massacre in 1996 in which 35 people were killed.

Ardern said that similar to Australia, the law would allow for strictly enforced exemptions for farmers for pest control and animal welfare.

"I strongly believe that the vast majority of legitimate gun owners in New Zealand will understand that these moves are in the national interest, and will take these changes in their stride."

LOTS OF GUNS

New Zealand, a country of fewer than 5 million people, has an estimated 1.2-1.5 million firearms, about 13,500 of them MSSA-type weapons.

Most farmers own guns while hunting of deer, pigs and goats is popular. Gun clubs and shooting ranges dot the country.

That has created a powerful lobby that has thwarted previous attempts to tighten gun laws.

Federated Farmers, which represent thousands of farmers, said it supported the new laws.

"This will not be popular among some of our members but ...

we believe this is the only practicable solution," a group spokesman, Miles Anderson, said in a statement.

The main opposition National Party, which draws strong support in rural areas, said it also supported the ban.

The changes exclude two general classes of firearms commonly used for hunting, pest control and stock management on farms.

"I have a military style weapon. But to be fair, I don't really use it, I don't really need it," said Noel Womersley, who slaughters cattle for small farmers around Christchurch.

"So I'm quite happy to hand mine over."

Ardern said more reforms would cover the firearm registry and licensing.

MOSQUES TO REOPEN FOR FRIDAY PRAYERS

Nada Tawfeek, who buried her father-in-law killed in the attacks, Hussein Moustafa, on Thursday, welcomed the ban.

"It's a great reaction. I think other countries need to learn from her," Tawfeek said.

Mohammed Faqih, a member of the Islamic clergy who flew in from California and attended the funerals for some victims on Thursday, said he was "extremely grateful" for the gun ban.

"I wish our leaders in the States would follow on her footsteps and do the same thing," he said.

The first victims were buried on Wednesday and burials continued on Thursday, with the funeral of a school boy.

A mass burial is expected on Friday.

The bullet-riddled Al Noor mosque was being repaired, painted and cleaned ahead of Friday prayers.

Ardern will attend the Muslim call to prayer and a two-minute silence at Hagley Park, opposite the mosque. The call to prayer will be telecast nationally.

Armed police have been guarding mosques around New Zealand since the attacks. Police said there would be a "heightened presence" on Friday to reassure those attending weekly prayers.

Thousands of worshippers are expected at the Al Noor mosque, where the majority of victims died.

Most victims were migrants or refugees from countries such as Pakistan, India, Malaysia, Indonesia, Turkey, Somalia, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.

Australian Brenton Tarrant, 28, a suspected white supremacist who was living in Dunedin, on New Zealand's South Island, has been charged with murder following the attack.

He was remanded without a plea and is due back in court on April 5, when police said he was likely to face more charges.

Twenty-eight people wounded in the attacks remain in hospital, six in intensive care.

As darkness fell, about 100 people gathered in a Christchurch square for an inter-faith vigil. Christian leaders led hymns and people laid ferns as a symbol of peace.

"Whatever you believe, whatever I believe, we're still human beings. We still need each other," Ibrahim Abdelhalim, imam of Linwood Mosque, where seven people were killed, told the crowd.

Reuters

 

Most Viewed in 24 Hours
Top
BACK TO THE TOP
English
Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.
License for publishing multimedia online 0108263

Registration Number: 130349
FOLLOW US
主站蜘蛛池模板: 99re在线免费视频| 帅教官的裤裆好大novels| 无码av天天av天天爽| 尾野真知子番号| 国自产拍在线天天更新91| 欧美xxxx狂喷水| 日韩激情无码免费毛片| 无码人妻一区二区三区在线| 岳又湿又紧粗又长进去好舒服| 国精产品wnw2544a| 国产无套露脸大学生视频| 国产av午夜精品一区二区入口 | av天堂午夜精品一区二区三区| 0588影视手机免费看片| 色妞色综合久久夜夜| 波多野结衣系列痴女| 日韩欧美一区二区三区视频| 开始疼痛的小小花蕾3| 国产精品VA无码一区二区| 国产h视频在线观看网站免费| 亚洲欧美国产高清va在线播放| 久久亚洲欧美日本精品| acg里番全彩侵犯本子福利| 黄网站免费观看| 爱情岛论坛网亚洲品质自拍| 日韩精品亚洲人成在线观看| 妖精动漫在线观看| 国产成人精品免费视频大全 | 乱人伦精品视频在线观看| 一区三区三区不卡| 91精品免费看| 法国性经典xxxxhd| 插B内射18免费视频| 国产精品一区二区久久不卡| 午夜dj在线观看神马电影中文| 亚洲一区免费视频| _妓院_一钑片_免看黄大片| 试看120秒做暖暖免费体验区| 污片在线观看网站| 成人午夜视频免费| 国产成人一区二区三区|