New Zealand swiftly embraces gun control measures in wake of Christchurch terror attack

'We need to ban some semi-automatics, perhaps all of them' attorney general says

Senior officials in New Zealand's government have vowed to swiftly introduce gun control measures in the wake of the massacre a two mosques in the city of Christchurch.

Citizens across the country appeared to embrace calls for reform from politicians.

Donning a hijab while meeting with the local Muslim community, prime minister Jacinda Ardern reassured members of the Islamic faith they were just as Kiwi as citizens of any other religious faith.

She also said legislation surrounding gun control “will change” in New Zealand, a nation that enjoys little gun violence despite its relaxed laws.

Options include a ban on private ownership of semi-automatic rifles that were used with devastating effect in Christchurch and a government-funded buyback of newly outlawed guns.

Attorney General David Parker echoed Ms Adern's comments, telling Radio New Zealand that “decisions have yet to be taken” but the issue was already being reviewed.

“We need to ban some semi-automatics, perhaps all of them,” he said.

While curtailing gun owners’ rights is a political battleground in the United States, Christchurch gun owner Max Roberts, 22, predicted Ms Ardern won’t face serious opposition to her agenda.

“There will be no opposition to it. There’s no movement in New Zealand for that. Our media and politics are more left wing,” said the carpenter who uses guns for hunting.

The move to enact gun control in New Zealand also has the support of the police association, whose leader Chris Cahill said this week, “We know how easy it is to get firearms in New Zealand, and while today and the next few days is the time to look after the welfare of the victims and their families, clearly we need to have a look at firearms law in New Zealand.”

Elliot Dawson, who survived the shooting at Christchurch’s Linwood mosque by hiding in a bathroom, hopes New Zealand follows Australia’s lead on gun control.

There, a virtual ban on private ownership of semi-automatic rifles and a government-funded gun buyback cut the size of the country’s civilian arsenal by almost a third.

The ban followed a 1996 massacre in which a lone gunman used assault rifles to kill 35 people in Tasmania state in 1996.

“Personally, I don’t think guns should be legal at all. Maybe in some extreme self-defence, but I don’t think they need such firearms like that,” Mr Dawson said. “New Zealand is not America. America is a totally different situation. I think in America it would be probably more dangerous to take people’s guns away. But here, I don’t think we need them at all.”

Akshesh Sharma moved to Christchurch from Fiji to study. He was shocked that the shooter was able to get his hands on such military-style weapons.

Mr Sharma agrees with the prime minister that gun laws need to be tightened.

“I don’t see this as a place where you need guns to live to feel safe,” Sharma said. “I can understand in the US maybe, but here it’s a different story.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report