Dear MEL Topic Readers,
Gun owners in New Zealand voluntarily
surrender more than 10,000 firearms
One mass-shooting was more than enough for
New Zealanders to introduce and implement tougher gun control laws. It was
March 15 this year that a shooter fired semi-automatic weapons at two mosques
in Christ Church and killed 51 people. New Zealand government and parliament were
quick to act to ban semi-automatic weapons and implemented a nationwide gun buyback
program. Many gun owners responded to the program and over 10,000 firearms were
voluntarily surrendered to authorities within a month. That’s a significant
number considering the nation’s small population of under five million.
The neighboring country, Australia, took a similar action after a shooting incident in Tasmania in 1996 that left 35 people
dead. Their program collected 640,000 illegal firearms.
While whether these gun buyback programs stop
people from shooting others remains to be seen, a substantial number of weapons were
voluntarily surrendered in each program. Emotion could divide people, but it
could also unite people to act for a better society. Unfortunately, politicians
of the country that has the longest list of mass shootings seem to be concerned
only about the next election and keep their do-nothing attitude toward firearm
control.
Read the article and learn what could be “enough
is enough” to stop mass shootings.
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