New Zealand tightens gun laws again after mosque massacre
September 13, 2019, 9:04 am

New Zealand tightens gun laws again after mosque massacre

New Zealand unveiled new legislation Friday aimed at ensuring only “fit and proper” people can own guns in the wake of the Christchurch mosque attacks that killed 51 Muslim worshippers.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern had immediately banned military style semi-automatic rifles after the shootings in March but said further restrictions were needed to target the black market.

“Owning a firearm is a privilege not a right,” she told reporters in Christchurch on Friday.

“That means we need to do all we can to ensure that only honest, law-abiding citizens are able to obtain firearms licenses and use firearms.”

Under the new legislation, a registry will be set up that is designed to track ownership of every legally owned firearm in the country.

The measure also increases the jail term for supplying firearms to an unlicensed person from three months to two years, as well as tightening gun importation and sales.

Police will determine if someone is “fit and proper” to hold a license, with power to exclude anyone promoting extremism, convicted of violent crime or with mental health issues, including attempted suicide.

The register, expected to take five years to complete, will contain details of the estimated 1.2 million firearms in New Zealand, for a population of around five million.

Police Minister Stuart Nash said the existing gun legislation was introduced in 1983 and needed updating.

The alleged Christchurch gunman Brenton Tarrant legally obtained an arsenal of rifles before embarking on the worst mass shooting in New Zealand’s modern history.

The self-avowed white supremacist is accused of opening fire at two mosques while livestreaming his actions on social media.

He has pleaded not guilty to 51 counts of murder, 40 of attempted murder and engaging in a terrorist act.

In addition to the semi-automatic ban, the first round of gun law reforms included a firearms buyback scheme allowing the public to hand in weapons before a six-month amnesty expires.

The Christchurch killings rocked New Zealand and Ardern’s gun reforms have been generally accepted in the South Pacific nation.

There has been some opposition, including from the conservative ACT Party, which said law-abiding firearms owners were not receiving a fair hearing.

“We also oppose a gun register because such an exercise will cost a significant sum of taxpayer money but will not capture the criminals and gang members who hold firearms,” ACT leader David Seymour said.

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BENEFIT, the Kingdom’s innovator and leading company in Fintech and electronic financial transactions service, has sponsored the BuildHer CityHack 2025 Hackathon, a two-day event spearheaded by the College of Engineering and Technology at the Royal University for Women (RUW).
Aimed at secondary school students, the event brought together a distinguished group of academic professionals and technology experts to mentor and inspire young participants.
More than 100 high school students from across the Kingdom of Bahrain took part in the hackathon, which featured an intensive programme of training workshops and hands-on sessions. These activities were tailored to enhance participants’ critical thinking, collaborative problem-solving, and team-building capabilities, while also encouraging the development of practical and sustainable solutions to contemporary challenges using modern technological tools.
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Professor Riyadh Yousif Hamzah, President of the Royal University for Women, commented: “This initiative reflects our commitment to advancing women in STEM fields. We're cultivating a generation of creative, solution-driven female leaders who will drive national development. Our partnership with BENEFIT exemplifies the powerful synergy between academia and private sector in supporting educational innovation.”
Hanan Abdulla Hasan, Senior Manager, PR & Communication at BENEFIT, said: “We are honoured to collaborate with RUW in supporting this remarkable technology-focused event. It highlights our commitment to social responsibility, and our ongoing efforts to enhance the digital and innovation capabilities of young Bahraini women and foster their ability to harness technological tools in the service of a smarter, more sustainable future.”
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