New Zealand promised and delivered a gun ban. Here's why the U.S. can't do the same

A police officer is seen as people attend the burial ceremony of a victim of the New Zealand mosque attacks in Christchurch on Thursday. (Jorge Silva/Reuters)

New Zealand promised and delivered a weapons ban. It should be noted that the United States can not do the same. Many expect this to be repeated by the leaders, however, it is really complicated for the United States.

Changes in gun policy have been notable. Which undoubtedly were dramatic and, remarkably, for a nation aligned with the West with a strong lobby for guns, the reforms came quickly. However, this was the government of New Zealand, not the Congress of the United States.

After less than a week after a massive shooting that took place in two mosques in Christchurch that killed at least 50 faithful, Jacinda Ardern, who is the island’s prime minister, declared Thursday “New Zealand will ban all military-style semiautomatic weapons” while presenting immediate plans to stop the sale of certain firearms.

Actions that produce both amazement and admiration

Andrew Patrick, a spokesman for the Washington-based Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, followed the news with a mixture of amazement and admiration. The action taken in New Zealand, he said, “is what we should expect from our leaders in the United States”.

It is necessary to make a comparison, only in a few days, he said, Ardern had delivered changes. Now, this contrasts with what happened immediately after the deadly shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut, when an armed man killed 26 people, most of them children. As expected, instantly, gun control activists and survivors demanded a similar ban on assault-style military weapons. More than six years later, they are still waiting.

While for its part, New Zealand has been trying to introduce restrictive weapons laws to prevent a tragedy such as an attack on the mosque last week for almost a quarter of a century.

New gun policy in New Zealand is expected to be in effect by April 11.

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Source: Matt Kwong | CBC News