ZCZC
BFF-19
NZEALAND-ATTACK-GUN-LAWS-LEAD
NZ cabinet agrees tougher gun laws in ‘principle’
WELLINGTON, March 18, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – New Zealand’s cabinet agreed
measures to tighten gun control laws “in principle” Monday, just days after a
deadly mass shooting killed more than 50 people.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said details of the measures would be rolled
out before a cabinet meeting next Monday, saying “the time to act is now”.
Ardern also announced an inquiry into Friday’s twin mosque attack in
Christchurch, which raised questions about how the suspected gunman — a
white supremacist — was not picked up by intelligence agencies.
Although details have yet to be hashed out, the speed of New Zealand’s move
has resonated around the world — particularly in the United States, where
reforms have spluttered for decades, and similar debates are re-run after
each new mass shooting.
It took us 72 hours, Ardern said.
“We have made a decision as a cabinet, we are unified,” she added, flanked
by her coalition partner and deputy prime minister, Winston Peters.
Peters, whose New Zealand First party has previously opposed changes, said
he backed the prime minister fully.
“The reality is that after one pm on Friday our world changed forever and
so will our laws,” he said.
BSS/AFP/GMR/1148 hrs