Dear MEL Topic Readers,
Christchurch attack: New Zealand launches gun
buy-back scheme
A gun buyback program purchases guns, and in
some cases with ammunition, from private owners to reduce the number of
firearms. Some programs also give the chance for those who own firearms
illegally to surrender the weapons to the authority without prosecution
In Argentina, over 100,000 firearms were
collected in the 2007-2008 buyback program, which was voluntary and anonymous.
In Brazil, more than one million guns were
collected and destroyed in two programs between 2003 and 2009.
In Australia, as many as 660,000 firearms were
retrieved and destroyed in a similar program in 1996.
New Zealand banned semi-automatic weapons shortly
after the March 15 Christchurch massacre which left 51 victims. They’ve now
launched a buyback program to collect as many as 14,300 licensed military-style
semi-automatic weapons until December 20.
In any case, even though the number of guns
on the streets is reduced at least for some period of time, the chance for another
mass shooting still remains until the last gun is collected.
Read the article and learn what gun buyback
program is about and what it does and doesn’t.
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