I was, as many people around the world were, shocked to discover that NZ's gun laws did not prevent people from owning the type of weapons that were used in the attack. There is very little gun violence here, and I naively believed that this was partially because there weren't so many or such dangerous guns around. I was stunned to find that there are approximately 1.5 million guns in NZ, and while apparently the majority of these are owned by rural farmers who use them for pest control, it is still a large number. In 2017, there were 30 guns for every 100 people in NZ, which seems so high to me! I learned, to my horror, that in that same year there were 101 guns for every 100 people in the States. For a moment that seemed to mean that I should reframe and think of 30 as not all that many, but I don't want it to be about comparisons, I just don't think we need so many guns! And if we do want to compare, the UK had 4 guns for every 100 people that year, so smaller numbers are achievable.
In the subsequent weeks, I've done a bit of reading about gun laws in NZ, although I have to admit that I haven't done as much as I might have on a different topic, because I find myself getting upset very quickly. To summarize my findings, Kiwis have discussed gun laws over the years when there have been shootings in other countries, including the one in Australia that led the Australian government to tighten its restrictions. NZ, however, has chosen not to do the same. You can read an article about some reasons why, as well as watch a video of one of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's statements after the tragedy by clicking here.
As you can see in the video, the government took its role in the tragedy very seriously, and immediately began taking steps to prevent such a thing from happening again. Within a few weeks, major gun reforms passed almost unanimously (119 to 1 in Parliament). The new laws ban semi-automatics and assault rifles, and limit the size of magazines. I don't know anything about guns, but my understanding is that they tried to balance farmers' ability to use guns for pest control and the safety of getting rid of guns that could do large-scale damage. You can read more about the changes to the laws, the current restrictions, and the government buy-back of newly illegal guns by clicking here or here or here.
I realize it says little about my merits as a well-informed citizen, but I don't want to know any more about guns than I already do. I wish that changes had been made before a tragedy forced us all to wake up and take action, but I'm so thankful that the response has combined empathy with legal action, and that the changes have now been made. I have deep respect and admiration for Jacinda Ardern, and am glad that she is able to lead us through this difficult time. I am glad that many of the more dangerous guns in this country will soon be out of circulation, but I am even more glad that Kiwis as a people were able to decide that that was what needed to happen.
In conclusion, I would like to share this letter that was in the newspaper. It is from the President of the International Muslim association and to New Zealand, and it is truly inspiring.
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