New Zealand Prime Minister Confirms Gun Law Reform Following Mosque Attack

"Within 10 days of this horrific act of terrorism, we will have announced reforms which will, I believe, make our community safer," the New Zealand Prime Minister said.

• By Sydny Shepard
• Mar 19, 2019

New Zealand's government has agreed to reform the country's gun laws in the wake of last Friday's massacre at two mosques in which 50 people were killed, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has confirmed.

Ardern said that the "worst act of terrorist on our shores," had exposed a range of weaknesses in New Zealand's gun laws.

"Within 10 days of this horrific act of terrorism, we will have announced reforms which will, I believe, make our community safer," Ardern said.

Ardern acknowledged that the planned amendments might create uncertainty for some gun owners, but said "I strongly believe that the vast majority of gun owners in New Zealand will agree with the sentiment that change needs to occur."

Ardern also announced that there would be an inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the attacks. It will looking what agencies knew - or should have known - about the gunman's access to weapons or any impediments into the sharing of information. 

The impact of the attacks have reached far, on Monday the popular New Zealand e-commerce website "TradeMe" ended the sale of semi-automatic guns on its online marketplace.

"We have listened to public sentiment following Friday's terrorist attack in Christchurch and decided to remove all semi-automatic firearms sales and parts associated," TradeMe wrote in a statement.