SWIFT ACTION

New Zealand Passes Semiautomatic Weapon Ban Just Weeks After Massacre

Prime minister hopes law will prevent future terror attacks.

New Zealand’s lawmakers have passed a law that bans most semiautomatic weapons, just weeks after 50 worshippers were shot dead in two Christchurch mosques. All but one of the parliament’s 120 lawmakers approved the ban—gun owners will now have have until the end of September to hand them in. Some semiautomatic guns, which hold less than 10 rounds, will be allowed but only if users can prove they are legitimately using the weapons for hunting. “I can recall very vividly the moment I knew that we would need to be here, doing what we are doing right now,” said prime minister Jacinda Ardern. “I could not fathom how weapons that could cause such destruction and large scale death could have been obtained legally in this country ... We are ultimately here because 50 people died and they do not have a voice." The bill will become law in the next few days when it receives royal assent from the country's governor general.

opinion

TERRORISM

Time to Attack White Nationalism for the Terror Group It Is

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