New Zealand’s “voluntary” gun buyback program is looking like a huge flop with only 530 “military-style” weapons turned in as of the beginning of June.
Just to put this into perspective, there are roughly 1.5 million guns in New Zealand — along with 150,000 gun permits. With such a minuscule amount of weapons turned in so far, it’s hard to read this as anything other than a mass resistance on behalf of Kiwi gun owners.
The country’s media is blaming the delays on lack of compensation for returned weapons.
“If they are being serious about their considerations and ensuring that there is fair and reasonable compensation, then firearm owners will wait a bit longer to make sure it is just and it is fair when it is received,” Secretary of the Council of Licensed Firearm Owners, Nicole McKee, told NewstalkZB.
Anyone who understands gun ownership at all knows this is hogwash. This isn’t about the money — it’s about the right of an individual to secure and protect his or her very existence. When gun control bills are proposed in the United States, you won’t hear a single serious gun owner complaining about not being to hunt elk or something. They will lament over not being able to protect themselves or their families.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern became a hero for the American left when she responded to the shooting by swiftly calling for a nation-wide ban on nearly every single firearm in the country. Unlike other U.K.-influenced nation states, New Zealand is home to a fairly active gun community. Firearm ownership is all but extinct in the United Kingdom and Australia.
The country implemented the “voluntary” program, billed as an “amnesty” in the immediate aftermath of the March mass shooting in Christchurch. The Australian-born shooter targeted two mosques, and used semi-automatic rifles to gun down over 50 people. His manifesto revealed that he conducted the mass murder precisely to encourage political divisions in the western world — particularly in the United States.
Seeing as every Democratic presidential candidate is pushing for gun control — and often citing New Zealand as an example — it’s fair to say that the shooter’s goal was achieved.
