If people think taking the guns out of everyone’s hands prevents crime, think again.
New Zealand is finding this out the hard way after the country’s lawmakers passed new anti-gun legislation in April 2019 called New Zealand’s Arms Amendment Act which bans certain firearms, like semi-automatics, their magazines, and other parts that could potentially be used to build custom made guns. This also includes the banning of some pump action shotguns. Plus, any magazine that can hold more than 10 cartridges is also not allowed. It’s a sweeping bill that is meant to update the Arms Act of 1983.
So with the goal of reducing gun crimes, how’s New Zealand doing?
Gun Crimes Are Up…Way Up
The government published statistics showing a sharp increase in firearm-related crime in 2019. It’s the highest rate for gun crimes since 2009. This is even true as law enforcement is confiscating guns left and right. Over the past five years the amount of guns that the police have taken from citizens is up almost 50 percent. Apparently, criminals aren’t on board with turning their weapons in…
Confiscation Is Key to Enforcing the Ban
The police and government has come to the conclusion that the only way to prevent violent crime and mass shootings is to take guns out of the hands of private citizens. They have attempted to do this with a national gun “buyback” program, which went on for six months in 2019 and paid gun owners money to turn in their illegal weapons. When it was all said and done, around 56,000 guns were turned in to the government.
Another country that tried to utilize a gun buyback program was neighboring Australia. They also found that taking guns away from people didn’t have any kind of positive effect on lowering their crime rates either.
The Tragic Event That Spurred New Legislation
The New Zealand government was so willing to pass these new laws due to a mass shooting that killed 51 people at a mosque in Christchurch in March 2019. The Prime Minister of New Zealand, Jacinta Arden, was quick to react. She says that most New Zealanders view gun ownership as a privilege, not a right. That’s the opposite of how people in the United States feel. Our Second Amendment enshrines gun ownership as a constitutional right.
It would be nice if New Zealand’s ban on certain guns actually led to less crime, but that’s not the case. Crime is still crime regardless of the government trampling all over their citizen’s “gun privileges.” More than likely, they just took guns away from responsible law abiding gun owners.
