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New Zealand Bans Assault Weapons Weeks After Christchurch Massacre

HeadlineApr 10, 2019

And in New Zealand, lawmakers voted 119 to 1 on a gun reform bill that bans all semiautomatic weapons and assault rifles. The bill comes less than a month after the Christchurch massacre. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced changes to New Zealand’s gun laws in the immediate aftermath of the attack. Ardern said the change was able to take place because of the victims and their families.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern: “They will carry disabilities for a lifetime, and that’s before you consider the psychological impact. We are here because of them, and I believe that they are here with us, supporting what we are doing here today, as well, because these weapons were designed to kill, and they were designed to maim. And that is what they did on the 15th of March.”

The bill is expected to become law in the next few days.

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