15 votes

A masterclass from New Zealand in responding to terror

4 comments

  1. [4]
    Nivlak
    Link
    Pardon my ignorance. Does anyone know if there are any laws on the books in NZ that are similar to the 2nd amendment in the US constitution?

    Pardon my ignorance. Does anyone know if there are any laws on the books in NZ that are similar to the 2nd amendment in the US constitution?

    5 votes
    1. unknown user
      Link Parent
      Gun use here is a privilege, not a right. There are some who require the use of semi-automatics for pest hunting and occasionally competitive shooting; but it's an extremely small section of the...

      Gun use here is a privilege, not a right. There are some who require the use of semi-automatics for pest hunting and occasionally competitive shooting; but it's an extremely small section of the economy, and their dependence on guns is outweighed by the greater public good to tighten down on gun laws; which is a bipartisan-supported approach.

      Hobbyists should not, and now, cannot—as of 3PM NZDT Friday—have access to military style-semi automatic weapons.

      Seeing a portion of the American population express disgust at our gun control changes here is extremely frustrating. These sorts of people seem to think American law is global. It'd be nice if they buggered off and focused on their own problems first. America has no say in New Zealand's gun laws.

      10 votes
    2. falcarius
      Link Parent
      It's actually pretty uncommon to guarantee the right to bear arms in law. Most countries, New Zealand included, sort of allow guns by default and later pass legislation to regulate them. See...

      It's actually pretty uncommon to guarantee the right to bear arms in law. Most countries, New Zealand included, sort of allow guns by default and later pass legislation to regulate them. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right_to_keep_and_bear_arms and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_laws_in_New_Zealand

      7 votes
    3. teaearlgraycold
      Link Parent
      I'm no expert by any means - but obviously this event has caused a lot of discussion online, so I've read some comments about NZ laws in the last week. In NZ there is no equivalent to the 2nd...

      I'm no expert by any means - but obviously this event has caused a lot of discussion online, so I've read some comments about NZ laws in the last week.

      In NZ there is no equivalent to the 2nd amendment from the US. It's a publicly stated policy that gun use is a privilege and not a right there.

      4 votes