‘Restrictive’ New Zealand Gun Laws Useless at Stopping Mosque Massacres

New Zealand Police Commissioner Mike Bush holds a press conference on the Christchurch Mosque shootings. (New Zealand Police video screen capture)

U.S.A. – -(Ammoland.com)- “LIVESTREAM TERROR New Zealand mosque shootings – White supremacist gunman videos live murder of 49 at two Christchurch mosques,” The Sun headline declares. “Shocking GoPro footage – too graphic to publish – shows a shooter executing Muslim worshippers at point blank range with automatic weapons.”

“New Zealand mosques’ attack suspect praised Trump in manifesto,” Al-Jazeera followed up. “A suspected gunman behind the Christchurch attacks has dubbed the US president as ‘a symbol of renewed white identity’.”

The press has got all the usual suspects rounded up and ready to blame, right down to indicting Trump, white males, and guns while championing Islamic migrants. In the frenzied and hate-fueled mob-inciting, the politicization, and the media scramble to get scoops before all the facts are in, it would be helpful to introduce some known information into the mix.

“New Zealand gun laws face scrutiny after Christchurch attack,” The Guardian claims. “Unlike UK and Australia there is no ban on semi-automatic military-style weapons.” Disregarding for a moment that The Sun subhead claimed the weapons were “automatic,” reflecting the admitted intent of the Violence Policy Center to sow public confusion, the go-to authority consulted here is Philip Alpers, founding director of GunPolicy.org.

It’s instructive to consult what that organization has to say about New Zealand gun law and to note what the “mainstream” media is deliberately not telling us. Because per Alpers’ website, “The regulation of guns in New Zealand is categorised as restrictive … In New Zealand, the right to private gun ownership is not guaranteed by law.”

It’s true, as is being claimed, that there is no ban, per se, on semi-autos.  Instead:

“In New Zealand, private possession of semi-automatic assault weapons is restricted to police-approved licensed gun owners with a Military-Style Semi Automatic (MSSA) licence endorsement. Each MSSA must be registered to its owner and securely stored when not in use.”

Of relevance:

“In New Zealand, private possession of fully automatic weapons is restricted to police-approved licensed gun owners with a ‘collector’ licence endorsement. Each automatic or restricted weapon must be registered to its owner, and disabled when not in use.

“In New Zealand, private possession of handguns (pistols and revolvers) is restricted to police-approved licensed gun owners with a ‘pistol’ licence endorsement. Each handgun must be registered to its owner and securely stored.”

Special license endorsement firearms require a “genuine reason” for possession, “including sports shooting, hunting, and collection. Owning a firearm for self-defence is specifically excluded, and prohibited.”

New Zealand requires criminal and mental health checks with third-party character references. It has licensing and registration “of individual civilians licensed to acquire, possess, sell or transfer a firearm or ammunition.” It has domestic violence prohibitions.  Compare that to the “Universal Background Check” and “Red Flag/ERPO” edicts demanded for the U.S. as “common sense.” Private sales require a license, and “The buyer of a firearm in a private sale in New Zealand is obliged to pass official background checks before taking possession.”

Yet still, it is not enough, which tracks with experience here. What’s left is a total ban, something “common sense gun safety law” proponents dismiss as NRA propaganda, but which the less restrained in the citizen disarmament movement have demanded on too many occasions to ignore.

Follow updates to this unfolding story from the New Zealand Commissioner of Police.


About David Codrea:David Codrea

David Codrea is the winner of multiple journalist awards for investigating/defending the RKBA and a long-time gun owner rights advocate who defiantly challenges the folly of citizen disarmament. He blogs at “The War on Guns: Notes from the Resistance,” is a regularly featured contributor to Firearms News, and posts on Twitter: @dcodrea and Facebook.

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Jen

He said in his manifesto that he had more in common with China. He was a communist not a “right wing extremist”. Really!!! Why are we painting this picture. He was alone, he was not a kiwi and he was probably batshit crazy. It has nothing whatsoever to do with New Zealand or New Zealand culture.

Paul

When the islamists murder catholics in their churches in Africa nobody gives a shit, when one white man does the same in return they call him a murderer and a major uproar arises all over the World…what’s fucking wrong with you people???

david l green

Honestly, I have no clue. Perhaps on their Scale of Oppression, they whites as the most oppressive, and Muslims as the oppressed, so they have to screech. They have divided everyone into classes with a sliding scale of justice.

Will Flatt

This incident couldn’t have been scripted any better by the Deep State, to distract from the important stuff going on in DC and reinforce the Left-wing MSM narrative. You know the Deep State is behind this because it follows their playbook to a T: 1) False flag incident to distract the masses and change the news cycle – race and/or religion motivated https://qmap.pub/themes/read/23 2) Pin blame on Trump, no matter how tenuous and ludicrous the claim is 3) Advance the gun control agenda: disarm all Americans (even when a shooting happens in a FOREIGN country) https://qmap.pub/themes/read/32 4) Coordinate talking points… Read more »

tomcat

The muzzies have infiltrated the whole world and every place they go trouble comes up. They are a waring bunch bent on converting everyone to Islam or killing those who don’t. The infiltration of our congress is just wrong because they do not know or want to know our Constitution or semulate into our society. They are hell bent on changing our society. Yes, I am politically incorrect, but it matters to our United States of America if we adopt these off the wall foreign ideas or stick to our principles and rule of law. Australia, even if I do… Read more »

JVC

ah, ignorant as always, Tomcat. you are the biggest keyboard warrior on this site. Get out and live some.

American Patriot

I’ve shot automatic weapons before & I saw the video……I’m pretty sure about 110% they were not full auto!!

Walter Goddard

A spiritual tapestry indeed! A weaving of: intolerance, hate, white supremacist, racist, anti-1A, or 2A.. ?, What’s in a name? ..LOOK at the names that they wrote on their weapons!, the names of every person shot, the names of the shooters, the names of reporters, and LE, etc.. etc… All-in for: the cause of anarchy, chaos, to steal/kill/destroy, take the rights of other people… ISIS, Jihad..?, anti-freedom/liberty… Using Trump as a chump/mentor target too.. If you want to get to the MO, get to the root of the problem. It’s a spiritual problem. The Gov./LE keep looking at the surface… Read more »

Walter Goddard

I found an interesting piece of truth to what I said in the preceding letter. Regarding a series of spiritual attacks.
This shows a photo caption from a video news report by CNN…

Take a look at the pawn shop sign in the beginning.. “Parklands”…

https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/19/asia/christchurch-attack-intl/index.html?no-st=1553079511

joefoam

Any bets on how many new gun control laws will be introduced in the near future? You can bet there will be plenty and they will be as ineffectual as the ones already on the books. People will never learn or admit it’s the person not the weapon.

JoeUSooner

Oh, “people” (at least, sane ones) do understand and freely state that it is indeed the “person,” not the “weapon” that counts!

It is the idiotic liberals and the Democrat leadership – whose qualifications as “people” are seriously debatable – who never learn that, when it comes to firearms, the one and ONLY (single, solitary) important element is who’s wielding that firearm and why.

With abject apologies to Gamaliel, “All else is commentary.”

Witold Pilecki

I am a self-professed “American Nationalist.” I believe in American sovereignty and culture, and am quite happy with how the Trump Administration is doing. Especially when it comes to erasing the legacy of the occupant for the previous 8 years. America’s interests should be first on EVERY American’s agenda, they certainly are on mine. For illegals: Build the goddamn Wall, and Deport Them All. You want to come here; wait your turn, follow the laws and procedures, LEARN ENGLISH, and become an American. Certainly, don’t forget your cultural heritage, but become an English speaking American, not a foreign national living… Read more »

Don Laster

Amen brother I’m with you!!

monty

you really don’t know much about American history or the immigration it is founded on. stay over at stormfront, dickhead.

Witold Pilecki

Apparently, just like all LIBTARDS, the word “ILLEGAL” in front of immigration escapes your eyes, or you don’t understand the definition. My, my….what other crimes must you be regularly committing, all the while believing it to be perfectly legal to perpetrate?
My entire existence in this country is owed to immigration….LEGAL immigration. All my great-grandparents were immigrants, that assimilated into proud, English speaking Americans. Three sets came from Quebec, and one from Auschwitz, Poland.

Now who’s the “dickhead”?

Rcorino

Actually, he does. Every immigrant who arrived on thses shores by sea assimilated. Even the most nationalistic of these cultures, te Chinese assimilate. They take western names. Granted they live in their enclaves and some don’t bother to learn English but a majority do. It is those that come by land and the Muslims that refuse to assimilate. They will accept all the benefits but do nothing to add to our culture but they will readily tear it apart. I am an immigrant. Outside my house i am an American. I am not ( insert nationality here )- American. When… Read more »

ras

Witold, great post.

TheHolyCrow

Yeah, look at many countries in Europe today. Totally over run by foreigners and everyone was afraid to say anything for fear of being labeled a “rascist”. A few years ago on New Years Eve, it was known as the “Night of a Thousand Rapes”. The cops were too scared to arrest the perps because they would be labeled “Rascists”. I wonder if the NZ shooters knew any of the dead ones, personally ? Exactly what was their reason and motivation for murdering all those Muslims ? Nobody does such a thing without a reason, usually. Were the shooters Israeli… Read more »

Quatermain

David Codrea’s articles are always well formulated, informative and factual. What a contrast with Harold Hutchinson’s drivel.

james

Let them go full blown gun ban, look at France, their laws did not stop terrorists with rifles or box trucks.

Laws are like a lock, they work for honest people.

Bob Koceja

Violence only stops when it is met with equal or superior force.

Shame on every gun owner who votes Democrat.

JPM

Not being politically correct I’ll go ahead and state what most of us are thinking, “It’s about time”. Those in the politically correct media, both liberal and conservative, cry outrage at the act, and it is truly terrible, but as one of the New Zealand Parliament members stated, “They brought it upon themselves”. Hundreds of thousands of Christians, Jews, Buddhists and other innocent people have died at the hands of Muslims over the past few decades (and even more over the centuries), but for some unknown (presumably politically correct) reason, the tables have never been turned in recent times at… Read more »

MB

Well stated JPM. If only more people looked at history, Winston Churchill had the Muslims pegged 100 years ago. He forsaw what was happening in Germany with the Nazis, but no one listened to him about that until it was too late. It’s now time to pay attention !

Greg K

So if we apply that to the Progressive Ilk in this country, is it still OK? What about that one scummy, disillusioned family member that we hope to sway someday?

All of your post has truth sewn into it, but sometimes there’s the “Truth” and sometimes there’s “The TRUTH.” Tough row to hoe.

willy d

This all boils down to exactly what the Demo-Rats and Rhino’s want total registration which will make it easier to led to total confiscation, of all guns and ammo and destroying the Second Amendment along without a doubt the total Constitution, people it is well past the point of being blind to what these mush heads want!!!!!!!! They want to enslave all to bow to their demands, why do you think the big push to getting voting rights back to convicted felons, illegals, they can’t get this done if we the people are armed and have freedom of speech, they… Read more »

Deplorable Bill

Another gun control win. As usual, the bad guy hoses down a bunch of innocent people. He had to reload several times. He was engaged by a good guy while exiting the crime scene. Not engaged by the cops. It was all over in just a few min. He was gone before the cops arrived. Any of this sound familiar? Gun control only controls the “law abiding citizen”. Someone who has evildoings on his mind has little care or worry he will be breaking a gun control law. Gun control laws only add to the ease of killing non retaliatory… Read more »

ras

Deplorable Bill, you are right. Great post.

Mike

Well presented information, I had googled the New Zealand gun laws after this shooting; but you present a much clearer picture of gun control and more so the gun owner control there. I hope you update us once it is explained how he had Full Auto weapons in a country that all but bans them.

Bilbo Baggins

NZ Laws arent restrictive. They’re about the same as the more pro-gun parts of the USA. Firearm ownership is high. Shooter did not use full auto weapons but military style semi automatics. i imagine these will be banned in NZ now, though, like Australia, sporting semi automatics with ower magazine capacities will still be available to farmers and professional shooters. i find the comments on this page kind of odd. A bloke just shot 50 people dead in a place of worship. (‘mussies’, as tomcat says. you really are a dickhead, mate) it’s not a good thing. well, unless youre… Read more »

n.r. ringlee

And the “good guy with a gun” is now a criminal. Note this:

Owning a firearm for self-defence is specifically excluded, and prohibited.”

Snufft

It’s the same in the UK. Keeping and carrying arms for self-defense is considered “looking for trouble”. Unfortunately, all too often trouble is looking for you.

Heed the Call-up

n.r.ringlee, and that person did not want to nor use it for self-defense. Since they “allowed” for hunting, I guess that must have been what he stated on his application. He must not have listed the animals that he wanted to hunt. It seems he must have lied about why he wanted the firearms. Who would do such a thing? Isn’t that illegal? He also must have gotten three like-minded individuals to vouch for his character. So much for character references. I guess they will now require character references for those providing character references. That will keep them safe, right?

Macofjack

When will the world realize that gun laws DO NOT WORK! Never I guess. What a shame!

Huapakechi

Only those minions of the government and those who guard the wealthy are supposed to have the means of self defense, dontchaknow. Look how well that worked in nazi germany, the soviet union, venezuela, and everywhere else there has been a socialist “worker’s paradise”.
Those millions of “counter revolutionaries” murdered by one means or another by their own governments deserved their fate, according to those who would see us disarmed and helpless.

luigi villanova

There is no such thing as gun control! There is crime control, that would only impact the democ rat voter base, and there is communist gun confiscation plans. The use of the term “gun control” is democrat communist subterfuge. Gun control only applies to law abiding citizens. Citizens who have never been, nor will they ever be, any part of the problem. The problem being communistdemocrat gun confiscation scams.

Hankus

But… but… I just read an article about the “lax” gun laws in NZ being the boogie man.

Jim Macklin

New Zealand gun laws, more particularly their USE OF FORCE LAWS MADE THE DEATH TOLL OF 49 POSSIBLE.
SELF-DEFENSE IS NOT A LAWFUL OR JUSTIFIED USE OF WEAPONS.
Maybe the nut case would not have tried if the mosque was armed. Even if he did, the death toll would likely have been lower.

Robert J. Lucas

The reports have said that the mosque had armed participants.

Greg K

It turns out that a “Good Guy with a Gun” opened fire on this jackwagon. That said, he is a self described “Socialist, Eco-Fascist, China Loving, Conservative Hating malcontent.” He also stated that he is “Hoping for a Civil War in the US.” Real Charmer!

Wake up boys and girls, the world is waking to history.

RJ D

Funny in a sad way…. not one mention of this mass murder in Nigeria 2 weeks ago…
https://bpnews.net/52500/40-christians-killed-in-attacks-in-nigeria

Gdubb

When Christians are slaughtered it doesn’t fit the narrative. Unreportable for the caliphate news network and mslsd.

Duane

The New Zealand PM has stated that their gun laws will change.
I am sure not for the better.

Greg K

They need to change for sure…ARM EVERYONE!

Huapakechi

An armed society is a polite society. Manners are good when one may be forced to pay for his acts with his life. ~Robert A. Heinlein.

Greg K

Spot On!

william chandler

They are banning guns, but not “GoPros” or automobiles (or abortions). Why don’t they ban “Media Assault Mind Programming”? For hundreds of years Muslums enslaved, murdered, robbed, pirated, invaded European Christian civilization. Finally the Europeans mounted the Crusades in self defense …. all WE hear about are “Those awful Crusaders” Now who is REALLY to blame, who has been whipping up antiMuslum hyeteria for Deacdes in movies, TV, video games, the “press” …… yes, that is right …. those that Control the MSM. The dusky bearded terrorist evil one in every movie, comic book, video game, ALWAYS muslum. Now either… Read more »