A terrorist nut goes on a rampage and a nation loses freedom:
In the wake of the horrific events coming out of Christchurch, NZ, it’s not surprising that many are screaming for more gun control. This is especially true in New Zealand, a country which lacks our strong identification with firearms.
Now, the government is ready to proceed. Its efforts? Simple. Ban a number of semi-automatic firearms.
All military-style semi-automatic weapons, assault rifles and high-capacity magazines will be banned in New Zealand following the mass shootings at two Christchurch mosques that killed 50 people, New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced on Thursday.
“On 15 March our history changed forever. Now our laws will too. We are announcing action today on behalf of all New Zealanders to strengthen our gun laws and make our country a safer place,” Ardern said at a press conference in the capital Wellington.The announcement came after the country’s cabinet agreed to overhaul the law and ban military-style semi-automatics and assault rifles 72 hours after the Christchurch attacks.“Every semi-automatic weapon used in the terror attack on Friday will be banned,” Ardern continued, adding that she hoped the law would be in place by April 11. “This legislation will be drafted and introduced in urgency.”…The gun reform proposal will be introduced to Parliament in the first week of April. For it to come into effect, lawmakers need to vote on amending the existing legislation, the Arms Act 1983.In the interim, New Zealand Governor General Patsy Reddy has signed an order to reclassify some semi-automatic weapons as “military-style”.As a result, many people who legally owned certain firearms will no longer be able to possess them on their existing license conditions.An amnesty will be put in place for weapons to be handed in from Thursday. Cabinet has directed officials to develop a buyback scheme, and Ardern said that further details would be announced “in due course.”
In other words, the typical anti-gun response of turning law-abiding people who did nothing wrong into potential criminals.
Go here to read the rest. When the Prime Minister of New Zealand was asked about whether this move infringed on the rights of the citizens of New Zealand she sniffed that owning firearms was a privilege not a right. I guess the Kiwis are about to become underprivileged. The Left has long wanted to confiscate guns in New Zealand and they are not letting this crisis go to waste. Thank God for the Second Amendment here.
Update: It is now a criminal offense in New Zealand to possess or disseminate the manifesto of the ChristChurch terrorist. Thank God for our First Amendment. The manifesto is rancid tripe. Go here to read it. I guess that makes me a criminal now in New Zealand. This of course demonstrates how worthless such attempts at censorship are in the age of the Internet, and how this is merely empty virtue signaling by a government that in the face of terrorism seeks to disarm its law abiding population,
“Thank God for the Second Amendment here.”
Yeah, but if many people of power and influence in both the secular and ecclesiastical world have their way, the Second Amendment will become dead letter at best.
It’s endured over more than two centuries and been strengthened recently, but eternal vigilance is ever the price of all freedom.
Satan marches onward.
Scratch New Zealand from the list of places of refuge should the left succeed in turning America into the Venezuela of the North.
In fact, throw the list away. No place to run, so might as well fight. Buy more guns and ammo.
New Zealand has adopted the exact same gun amnesty as Australia did in 1996. In April of 1996, a gunman opened fire on a tourist spot Port Arthur, Tasmania in Australia and killed 35 people. It prompted a bi-partisan gun amnesty led by PM John Howard, an ultra conservative politician, in australia. Australia is very similar to New Zealand in regards to gun ownership, in that it is not in our constitution and we don’t have a culture or mentality of gun ownership. Guns are owned predominantly by farmers or people who hunt for sport, but as far as owning a gun as a means of protecting oneself, this hasn’t generally been in our psych. So in a way, I agree with New Zealand’s stance on this particularly for semi-automatic rifles. That’s not to say the gun amnesty and gun laws have naively wiped out gun violence completely in Australia. Guns are sold on the black market and used in gang violence, hold-ups and in the underbelly of the community.
“Overall Australia’s homicide rate has declined 22% over the past 25 years, decreasing from 307 in 1989-90 to 238 in 2013-14. That’s one per 100,000 of population, according to the Australian Institute of Criminology” The Guardian 2018
However, I do understand and am sympathetic to the United States view on gun ownership and the 2nd Ammendment and the long held mentality of the right to protect oneself. And I respect this.
I just think you cannot judge New Zealand’s response through the eyes of the US because it really is chalk and cheese when it comes to views on gun ownership.
One of the unfortunate fall-outs from the ban is that it will be declared successful after a year or so and beg to be imitated here by Democrats.
“I just think you cannot judge New Zealand’s response through the eyes of the US because it really is chalk and cheese when it comes to views on gun ownership.”
For most Americans Ezabelle gun ownership is a civil right just as precious as freedom of speech. Our founding taught us that any government can turn against its people and that the last stronghold of freedom is an armed population. I hope that neither the people in your land, nor New Zealand, have to learn at some point in your history the hard lesson we learned in our beginning.
Any one who uses the argument that our present form of government is benign towards its citizens and the threat of a totalitarian takeover of the country would not happen in our day and age has not looked at how the government has been chipping away at our rights of free speech, our right to religion without restrictions including our consciences, and also our right to defend our selves in the manner we see fit.
The gov’t has been inching towards removing our rights in a subtle and sometimes not so subtle manner. The democrats won big in my state of NH this past November and here it is, half through the third month of their installation in Concord they’ve already passed gun control bills to restrict our freedom to defend ourselves. Sorry, it is very telling about the party in charge and what they see as a priority in their legislation. Oh, and if some here think that Donald Trump is a dictator why isn’t he taking our guns away? Seems to me that would have been the first thing he would have done.
“…but as far as owning a gun as a means of protecting oneself, this hasn’t generally been in our psych.”
As Don points out, its not about defending ourselves against crime but against an illegitimate government.
As an aside, there are approximately 8 times as many guns owned in America as in Australia. The number of gun homicides is only 4 times as high in America as Australia. Most of these limited to large cities. There is actually a low gun homicide rate in the country.
I read somewhere that NZ has a population of about 4.5 million with approximately 1.4 million firearms. That blows out of the water the notion that the more people who own guns the more dangerous a society. Why is NZ crime rate so low involving guns considering the number of guns to people?
It is not the number of guns that is important but but character of the person that goes outside the law to procure one.
I understand Donald, but Australia’s population is just over 24million, New Zealand is 3-4million. The US has a population of 360million, I stand to be corrected, so it makes sense when you are one of 360 million people, you might not rely on the police to protect you. The US is a considerably larger population to keep under control, so gun ownership makes sense.
Also, Australia has not experienced conflict on our soil. No wars, expect bombing of Darwin by Japanese in WW2. New Zealand has had no war. So that could explain the mentality also.
It has never been in our DNA, right or wrong, to own a gun to protect oneself. By golly, our own police officers come under fire if they shoot a perpetrator dead, rather than using softer means such as a taser or physical constraint to control. I’m just telling you about the mentality.
Phillip, I see. An illigegimate government is such a foreign concept to us and probably NZ. Because of our history. No conflict has ever been fought on our soil. But I would agree that the lowest crime rates would be in the country where gun owne ship is high, but probably because the population is smaller.
The “government ” here in America has redefined the human being as having no sovereign personhood who institutes the government, no transcendent, rational soul through Roe v. Wade.
The “government ” here in America has redefined the human being as having no procreative powers in Obergefell v. Hodges, same sex “marriage”.
The “government ” here in America has redefined the human being as having no power to address crime with citizens’ arrest.
The “government ” here in America has redefined the human being as having no innate, unalienable human rights to self-defense endowed by “their Creator” with the push towards gun control.
The “government ” here in America has redefined the human being as having a need for “Dear Leaders” to fill elected representative government offices.
George Washington refused a crown as king and a third term as president. We, the people are George Washington’s constitutional Posterity. All future generations are George Washington’s constitutional Posterity.
Here’s my biggest beef with Gun Control! (and climate, for that matter): they are terrorizing 50 million American children.
Feelings! Nothing more than feelings!
These politicized, mass-shooting crises are employed to beat down the opposition, control people, and censor speech.
The state must protect you from you. Safety is the alibi of all tyrants.
GUNS! are grave threats to Americans. Amazingly, free, law-abiding Americans have 350 million guns. Settled science = Guns Kill! Assuming that each mass shooting kills five or six that’s 350,000,000 * 5 = 1,750,000,000 KIA: WE ARE ALL DEAD!
Maybe they should start by banning murder and reinstating the death penalty.
“One Man, One vote.” These maniacs’ fell acts give new meaning to the term “assassin’s veto.”
free, law-abiding Americans have 350 million guns
According to some (low-end) estimates.
“…free, law-abiding Americans have 350 million guns…”
I think my neighbor has almost half of them…
“These politicized, mass-shooting crises are employed to beat down the opposition, control people, and censor speech.”
Yes maybe. But what should be the correct political response to mass shootings? Surely doing nothing is not an option. I’m sure all sides of politicals would agree that these events are tragic, senseless and should be preventable. I’m genuinely curious to know what the best course of action should be other than gun control. I’m sure there is one.
Yes, there is. Enforce the laws that we already have on the books concerning firearms possession and make the penalty for illegally owning a firearm so steep as to give thought to those who may think of violating them. One caveat. We will never eliminate mass shootings or violence from people who are mentally unbalanced or who are hellbent on committing a crime no matter what, but to totally disarm a populace because of the actions of a few is not an answer. We have laws against murder and theft. Has it eliminated those crimes? Neither will more gun control eliminate the mass murderer and if we give up our arms, who defends us against a rogue government? Hm? We have a whole new society of miscreants who do not care about life, theirs OR yours. What do you expect from a society that has so cheapened life as to kill over 60 million babies? Conversion of the heart is the answer, not gun control.
But what should be the correct political response to mass shootings?
Hanging, Drawing and Quartering, burning at the stake or some other suitably gruesome public punishment. After all, this monster has shocked and dismayed the public conscience, so his just desserts should equally shock and dismay would-be imitators.
Damnatio Memoriae wouldn’t hurt either, since nortoriety is part of the thrill. Stop encouraging the bastards by paying attention to them.
Vote the Le Petomaines out of office and boycott their harrumphers in the media would be a good idea too.
Starting with your idiot prime minister.
If the Kiwi’s have any common sense, they will rise up against this Muslim loving loon, and depose her pronto!
“make the penalty for illegally owning a firearm so steep as to give thought to those who may think of violating them.”
That doesn’t address the legal firearms being misused. And I’m sure nobody wants a gun in the hands of a mentally unstable teenager who took it from his parents who own it legally. So keep putting up with mass shootings I guess, until you find a solution.
“Starting with your idiot prime minister.”- Aheden is NZ Prime Minister not my PM. The gun amnesty there has been bi-partisan. In Australia, when the Gun Etsy came in in 1996, OUR then PM Howard when was anything but loony and Muslim loving. Our last good PM.
When they changed the Gun Laws in 1983, it was a backward step. I purchased 2 rifles when I was 19, in 1961 – a Mk.IV Lee Enfield .303 jungle carbine – a military weapon – and a Gevarme .22 semi-automatic – .303 for deer and pig hunting, the .22 for rabbits and small game.I first had to go to the police and get a licence to procure, and at that time, the police checked my knowledge of firearms and the safety protocols around their use – a verbal test and a check of your character . The firearms were registered against my name with serial number noted, and the system was a good one. Ex military SLR 7.62 semi auto rifles were readily available as well as other types.
In 1983 they did away with registering the weapon in the name of the individual – they went to the Australian system then in force, where you merely had to get a shooters licence and you could purchase as many weapons as you liked, and there is the flaw.
There were ‘A’ category weapons – shotguns, bolt/lever action rifles of any calibre. Semi autos were ‘E’ classification, and in theory were only available to farmers for pest control, Govt. dept ranger, police and military – or other specialised needs..
For this idiot to purchase 4 AR 15s is a failure by the police to enforce the law properly. I don’t have a problem with getting rid of semi-autos for private/recreational use – they should never have been available to buy by the public at large, and having large capacity magazines is unnecessary and stupid
Bring back proper registration as it used to be. They did away with it because the paper work was cumbersome, but noe that things are all computerised, if someone is buying a weapon, they merely need to check the registration records, and if he already has 1 or more guns, they can delve into why he wants more, and control things.
But Don’s right – a knee-jerk reaction by an Air Head unelected Prime Minister whose only world experience in the real world was wrapping fish and chips in a takeaway shop, and being president of World Socialist Youth. And the Left wing govt. we’ve got which includes the Greens – our crazy MMP electoral system. God help us.
“That doesn’t address the legal firearms being misused.”
Please, how do you determine who someone who legally obtains a firearm is going to act in the future? What about motor vehicles? They’ve been used to commit mass murder before so we should restrict them? How do you determine that someone will use a car or truck safely? You see where this is going? London has strict gun laws, but since knives have been used in crimes so many times the mayor of London has wanted to restrict certain kinds of knives…..really? What else should be restricted??? huh?
Jacinda Adern was incorrect when she said that ‘gun ownership is a privilege, not a right.’ As far as I’m aware, anyone of sound mind and a clean record has the right to purchase a firearm. Gun clubs, hunting clubs, Deerstalker association – there are plenty of recreational groups and opportunities for those who wish to use a firearm for sport. Back in the 1930’s right up to the 1980’s, hunting was a very lucrative trade. Despite being a small country of less than 5 mil. people, we do have some vast and amazing ‘big outdoors’ – particularly in the South Island.
I live in Tauranga in the North Island, and even now if I wish I can drive for around 20 minutes, and be in bush country when deer and pigs abound. In my youth – 1960’s – two friends and I supplemented our weekly earnings from our jobs, by hunting on the weekends and selling the deer to meat packers, who would export the venison etc. to Europe, UK,USA and Asia – venison in those days fetched 5 times the price of prime beef. They would even take wild goats and market the meat as ‘chevon’ – very tasty.
Helicopter hunting came in in the late 1960’s, and the SLR 7.62 ex military semi – auto was the weapon of choice, and venison exports became such a lucrative market that many farmers set up deer farming. The chopper pilots and hunters devised a net fired at the deer which would trap them – one would get out of the chopper, tie the animal, and sling it under the chopper and deliver it to the farm where it would be put in with the other deer. Deer farms now about, and are a common site.
In a years time, the gun laws will be changed to what they used to be but exclude semi-autos for sale to the public. The amnesty/buy back on semi autos will bring in all the legally owned ones, but the gangs will keep theirs. Hand guns have always been illegal in NZ – but the gangs have them, and if I wanted to buy one on the black market, i’m pretty sure I could get one.
The only ones being penalised are the law-abiding gun owners – as Don pointed out earlier. I don’t think much will change by the time the dust settles. IMO the problem now are the copy-cats, or the radical muslim revenge attack – maybe on the anniversary next year. Time will tell.
“Deer farms now abound…… (Stupid is as…..)
Thanks for your comment Don. As you know I have a deep liking for New Zealand, and it pains me to see the Kiwis losing freedom due to the action of one head case. As you point out, people who are intent on mayhem will not be hampered in the least by any of this. Only law abiding people will suffer.
We need to ban alcohol. And privately owned vehicles. Because misuse.
And maybe the internet, while we’re at it.
And chastity belts will be mandatory. Don’t worry though, they’ll have smart locks.
“What else should be restricted??? huh?”
Maybe differences of opinion.
“Maybe differences of opinion.”
I think people are working on that.
“And chastity belts will be mandatory. Don’t worry though, they’ll have smart locks”
Now that’s something which could come in handy. Thanks for the laugh.
I find it curious that homicide is so often linked with shooting.
Looking at the figures for my own country (Scotland), a country of 5.5 m people, there were 64 homicides in 2016-2017
Of these
Sharp instrument 30 (47%)
Hitting and kicking 11 (17%)
Blunt instrument 9 (14%)
Strangulation or asphyxiation 8 (13%)
Fire-raising 2 (3%)
And shooting? There was just one (1.5%) – One single, solitary homicide by shooting.
And shooting? There was just one (1.5%) – One single, solitary homicide by shooting.
The lower a country’s homicide rate, the higher the proportion of homicides which result from domestic arguments and bar fights. These are with few exceptions what’s called 1st degree manslaughter in New York – killing someone you intended to injure.
In the U.S., the background homicide rate might be roughly twice what it is in the British isles. However, we have a slum gangbanger culture which is responsible for about 1/2 the homicides in this country, an this you don’t find in other occidental countries. With appropriate staffing and deployment, local law enforcement could cut the death toll inflicting by this subculture by about 50%. For the most part, the political class in most localities is too otiose to attempt this and there are various cruddy little pressure groups that resist it when tried.
“inflicting by this subculture by about 50%. ”
Inflicted by this subculture by about 60%.
I believe, in NZ the Australian male had to obtain a license to purchase the assault weapon. Ergo, the police, or whomever, are also responsible for arming this nut job.
The left: Confiscate all AR’s if it will save ONE American! But, they promote sanctuary cities/states that protect illegal invaders that kill, on average each year, 4,000 Americans.
Also, regarding the need to confiscate all US assault rifles (sic): annually between 15 and 30 Americans are killed by AR’s that violently arise and start killing people.
Recent FBI annual, US murder weapon statistics:
Knives 1,817
Hammers, clubs, etc . 874
Hands/feet 869
*Teen texting and 400
AR-15 15
Worse, the left has terrified 50 million American children that fear they will be killed at school by auto-kinetic AR-47’s or sumptin.
I loved the So Island of NZ that I visited in 1973. My dad and I grabbed a hop on the “brides flight” that went on to supply the South Pole and McMurdo stations.. Beautiful varied topography and Christchurch was like a small English city. Pleasant people in the countryside and towns. Always dreamed of settling there. I’m with Ernst that NZ was the last getaway from a US gone to hell.
Don Beckett, deer farms are outlawed in most USA states. Deer overrun many Easter seaboard states. Lots of deer strikes w some fatalities during hunting season. Night hunting snipers with bow/crossbow are hired o control the deer population in suburban areas. Black powder, shotgun, rifles, handgun ownership is high in the countryside. Only black powder, bow, shotgun are allowed for hunting in my county. For many families that is their winter meat. Venison hunted without dogs is a delectable meat. Wild game meat cannot be sold. Venison, goose, duck, wild turkey donated to shelters or given to friends is okay.
“What else should be restricted??? huh?”
Maybe differences of opinion…”
Fine and dandy. Can’t win an argument shut down the opposition.
correction: deer strikes are most prevalent in rutting season, not as auto correct printed hunting season. If roadkill and the head is missing the game warden becomes suspicious.
“Fine and dandy. Can’t win an argument shut down the opposition.”
I dont want to win an argument, I want to have a discussion. I asked a genuine question, but you were belittling towards me. So I’ll leave it there.
If I seemed belittling it was not my intention and I’ve should had rephrased my comment. I apologize. You need to understand that many of us in the USA are at our wits end when it comes to gun control. I and many others do NOT conclude that it is the guns that are at fault but the criminal. We cannot live in a bubble where every sharp object is confiscated just to keep us safe. I will concede only one thing and that is if the law abiding citizen is restricted in owning the guns(s) they feel are necessary to defend themselves, we need a guarantee that the criminal will not be able to procure them either otherwise we cannot defend ourselves from them. Can the government guarantee that? No it cannot. Even if they could, who will defend us against a rogue government as I asked before? Again I apologize for the misunderstanding Ezabelle.
Yes, I can understand this, I guess to the extent that the majority of us here in Australia in Suburban cities live without owning guns.
This is a link to an Australian article about gun laws in NZ compared to Australia’s (I keep refering to Australia because NZ seems to be modelling their new laws on ours although details are still not clear). Yes it’s from an Australian POV.
https://www.google.com.au/amp/amp.abc.net.au/article/10925658
NZ are quite hazy on their specifics of the type of guns they want to restrict. But NZ are not banning guns. A) They want to make it mandatory to have a police permit for them. B) they want to restrict rapid fire guns and their accessories.
And as far as saying let’s ban knives, cars, the internet, sex whilst we are at it, yes anything can be misused. Absolutely anything. A dog can be a weapon. But come on- knives, cars, internet serve an everyday functional purpose for the general population. What everyday functional purpose does a gun have unless you need it in your line of work? That’s a different kettle of fish. Don’t think guns will ever be banned, but they most certainly do need restrictions. On a side, we had State elections today in New South Wales and “The Shooters and Fishers Party” (that is a political party which exists here) won 2 seats in the senate. And their preferences were not going to the Conservative party but to the lefties. Go figure.
I’m just wandering, if you arm yourself to protect yourself against the threat of an illegitimate government, what chance do you have against the destructive technology which an illigetimate government could use against you, an armed population?
Sorry, one more
https://www.google.com.au/amp/amp.abc.net.au/article/10907550
Yes Ezabelle, your links confirm what I have mentioned in my comments. We need firearm registration, which we had up until 1983 and it was crazy that they did away with it when we were on the cusp of general computerisation. If the police had kept the register of gun/owner, I doubt the massacre could have ever happened.
Firearms registration is a precursor to firearms confiscation.
And I’m unaware of the previous bad act that would have justified taking the kind of action that would have prevented the massacre.
I readily concede that might just be my ignorance showing, however.
You’ve given me an idea, though, illegal alien registration. I’d be very interested to see what the Democrats would make of that.
Don, yes the poor man who sold this lunatic the guns was not suspect of anything because they were obtained legally. If the authorities were alerted, perhaps his licence would have been questioned. Not sure if he was on any international watch list because of the stuff he was publishing online.
I’m sorry it was an Australian that caused this carnage in beautiful, Christchurch. Coward.
Ernst. Unless things political change radically, there is no way that the govt. would attempt confiscation. I guess you have to understand the Kiwi psyche to realise that it would never happen – the outcry would be heard (even in Australia 😉 ) and 100,000 hunters along with our Maori brothers(many of whom are great hunters – and control most of the gangs) would take to the bush and conduct guerilla warfare. Simply wont happen in the land of ‘A Fair Go’ – and Ezabelle would understand that in Australia – we are very close as brother/sister (name your preference) nations.
Most Australians wish they could cheer on the All Blacks, or perform the beautiful Haka. The New Zealand spirit and pride is deep. God Bless Don.
I lived in Wollongong in the ’80’s Ezabelle. I have cousins there, and they visited on Thursday – they were on a cruise ship that called into Tauranga and we all spent the afternoon together with my oldest so and his two kids. I see you are in NSW – whereabouts?
Kia Kaha. 🙂
“I’m just wandering, if you arm yourself to protect yourself against the threat of an illegitimate government, what chance do you have against the destructive technology which an illigetimate government could use against you, an armed population?”
I am one of millions who feel that when one God given right is allowed to fall then the rest of our rights are next in line. Our right to defend ourselves is the only thing that can prevent our other rights from being taken away. Destructive technology? If it does come down to armed conflict I expect to die, for I will not roll over and let my country be destroyed for my grandchildren without my trying to do something about it.
About 240 years ago a bunch of ragtag farmers fought against the the most powerful military force in the world to obtain their freedom. A nation was born. Do I have nuclear weapons? Tanks etc…? No, I and others do not. But I also believe there are many in the military that would not raise their weapons against their fellow citizens. Yes some will, but many will not.
I also do not believe that a rogue government in the USA, ruled by cowardly leftists who have no regard for our Constitution, will have the stomach for a protracted war against it’s own or allow such collateral damage to occur on a scale never before seen in this country. But that is besides the point. In answer to your question Ezabelle, I expect to die for my right to worship my God, defend my country and to defend my own family and the grandchildren that come after me.
One more thing. How do I know that the leftists are cowards? They murdered 60+ million innocent, defenseless children first. How brave they are. Now let us see what they will do with over a million armed citizens who WILL defend themselves and the ones they love.
And…everything I wrote above I pray to God with all my heart that it will not come to that. I love my country and it hurts me to see it trampled on as it has been.