New Zealand Bans Semi-Auto Firearms After Rushed Effort

By Chris Eger

Police in New Zealand are preparing for a “buyback” that could cost the nation of 5 million some $330 million USD following a new law that bans most semi-auto firearms. (Photo: Screenshot via Twitter)
Less than a month after a new push for gun control in the South Pacific nation was first floated, Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy signed a sweeping ban into law.
Reddy gave Royal Assent to New Zealand’s Arms Amendment Act on Thursday after the measure passed the nation’s Parliament this week in a 119-1 vote. The amendment changes the country’s 1983 gun laws to remove semi-automatic firearms from circulation and use by the general population in New Zealand by prohibiting not only most semi-autos but also their magazines and parts.
Introduced on April 1, the sweeping restriction garnered more than 13,000 public comments in its short legislative lifespan including many from legal gun owners who were shocked by the nature of the proposed changes.
“On something like this, which is fundamental to New Zealand society, you don’t just trample over everybody and then say, ‘well we’ve discussed it’,” Paul Clark, chairman of the 50,000-member Council of Licenced Firearms Owners, told Radio New Zealand.
As detailed by the national police, the entire category

Source: Guns.com