The terrorist attack at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, that left more than 49 people dead and scores of others wounded has evoked a lot of emotion and debate in the United States about how government can effectively reduce the amount of gun violence in schools and places of worship.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., helped to spark the discussion when, in the immediate wake of the attack, she wrote to her 3.5 million Twitter followers, “What good are your thoughts & prayers when they don’t even keep the pews safe?”
She clarified the tweet by writing, “‘Thoughts and prayers’ is reference to the NRA’s phrase used to deflect conversation away from policy change during tragedies.”
It appears Ocasio-Cortez, in an effort to malign the U.S. gun advocacy group, applied American standards to New Zealand, a country that arguably has tougher guns laws than the United States.
In the U.S., gun laws vary from state to state. In California, which has an “A” rating from the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, all gun sales are required to go through a licensed dealer, which requires a background check. Most so-called assault weapons and .50-caliber rifles have been banned in the Golden State, and, in 2018, Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law legislation that raised the minimum age for buying rifles from 18 to 21 years.
Its next-door neighbor Nevada, on the other hand, has a “D” rating from the Giffords Law Center. In Nevada, people subject to a domestic violence protective order are required to relinquish their firearms to law enforcement, but the state has looser restrictions on gun sales as well as licensing and registration of purchased firearms.
Despite the disparity between these two states, both suffered horrific mass shootings in the last few years. In December 2015, 14 people were killed, and 24 others were wounded in San Bernardino, Calif., in a mass shooting and attempted bombing by a married couple that pledged allegiance to the Islamic State. In October 2017, 58 people were killed, and hundreds more were wounded in Las Vegas, Nev., in what was considered the deadliest mass shooting committed by an individual in U.S. history.
In New Zealand, there are far more gun restrictions than the United States on average, although they might appear to be looser than some left-leaning states.
All gun owners must have a license to carry in New Zealand, but not all firearms have to be registered. Criminal background checks are mandatory, and factor in mental health, addiction, and domestic violence in one’s history. Law enforcement has the final say in whether a private citizen can own a firearm, but they cannot issue a firearm if personal protection is the reason for purchase.
Additionally, New Zealand prohibits open carry, concealed carry, and carrying without a permit. Fully automatic firearm permits may be issued, but certain types of semi-automatic weapons and shotguns are classified as military-style semi-automatic weapons and thus require a particular license in order to obtain.
In short, New Zealand’s laws are on par with most of the stricter U.S. states. In 1992, New Zealand tightened its gun laws following the Aramoana massacre in 1990 that left 13 people dead when the shooter used two military-style semi-automatic rifles to carry out the attack. Until Christchurch, Aramoana was the worst mass shooting in the country’s history.
