AP Photo/Mark Baker

In the wake of the horrific events coming out of Christchurch, NZ, it’s not surprising that many are screaming for more gun control. This is especially true in New Zealand, a country which lacks our strong identification with firearms.

Now, the government is ready to proceed. Its efforts? Simple. Ban a number of semi-automatic firearms.

All military-style semi-automatic weapons, assault rifles and high-capacity magazines will be banned in New Zealand following the mass shootings at two Christchurch mosques that killed 50 people, New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced on Thursday.

“On 15 March our history changed forever. Now our laws will too. We are announcing action today on behalf of all New Zealanders to strengthen our gun laws and make our country a safer place,” Ardern said at a press conference in the capital Wellington.

The announcement came after the country’s cabinet agreed to overhaul the law and ban military-style semi-automatics and assault rifles 72 hours after the Christchurch attacks.

“Every semi-automatic weapon used in the terror attack on Friday will be banned,” Ardern continued, adding that she hoped the law would be in place by April 11. “This legislation will be drafted and introduced in urgency.”

…

The gun reform proposal will be introduced to Parliament in the first week of April. For it to come into effect, lawmakers need to vote on amending the existing legislation, the Arms Act 1983.

In the interim, New Zealand Governor General Patsy Reddy has signed an order to reclassify some semi-automatic weapons as “military-style”.

As a result, many people who legally owned certain firearms will no longer be able to possess them on their existing license conditions.

An amnesty will be put in place for weapons to be handed in from Thursday. Cabinet has directed officials to develop a buyback scheme, and Ardern said that further details would be announced “in due course.”

In other words, the typical anti-gun response of turning law-abiding people who did nothing wrong into potential criminals.

The problem wasn’t the availability of guns. New Zealand required licensing of individuals before they could buy a gun, which indicated that the killer had no history that would warn of problems.

None.

Yet there was something so broken inside of him that he wanted to commit mass slaughter of people who did nothing wrong, and all to spark a civil war in yet another country. Do people think a ban will deter someone like that from murder?

It won’t.

Unfortunately, there’s nothing we can do about it. It’s not our country. It’s up to New Zealand gun owners to fight this, to hold off the tide of anti-gun legislation seeking to overtake their nation. We can’t do all that much to help except by potentially sending money to support their fight.

At the end of the day, we’ve got our hands full here with our own gun grabbers.

But don’t make any mistake. They’ll want to ban all of the same guns, and probably more, here before it’s all said and done.