In March, before the bodies from the horrific New Zealand mosque shooting had even been buried, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was rolling out an oppressive new gun grab stripping her citizens of most of their gun rights.
Interestingly enough, the terrorists who carried out the attacks had not only predicted this would happen, but actually hoped for.
What he perhaps didn’t predict is that kiwis simply wouldn’t comply.
The politicians sure took his bait.
“On 15 March, our history changed forever. Now, our laws will too,” Arden announced, carrying out the killer’s will. “We are announcing action today on behalf of all New Zealanders to strengthen our gun laws and make our country a safer place.”
“What we’re banning today are the things used in last Friday’s attack,” she said, adding: “It’s about all of us, it’s in the national interest and it’s about safety.”
Well, not a whole lot of people in New Zealand do feel “safer” handing over their guns, according to a recent report from the New Zealand Herald.
An estimated 250,000 people own the recently-banned semi-automatic weapons in the small nation, and between them own roughly 300,000 arms.
And all these people became overnight criminals at the swipe of a pen.
Of these 250,000 people however, a whopping 530 guns have actually been turned in.
Government officials attribute this failure to turn in guns to the citizens wanting to simply be compensated for handing over their heights, but things are unlikely to be that simple.
“If they are being serious about their considerations and ensuring that there is fair and reasonable compensation, then firearm owners will wait a bit longer to make sure it is just and it is fair when it is received,” says Nicole McKee, Secretary of the Council of Licensed Firearm Owners, who spoke with the NZ Herald.
“We are effectively being punished for the acts of a foreign terrorist, and we want to make sure that our personal and private property is adequately compensated when it is confiscated,” she said.
Of course, what is more than likely the case is that people are unwilling to disarm themselves.
Is that this complicated?
Certainly some people simply don’t want to turn over an expensive piece of personal property without getting something in return, but the price of giving up your rights can often be blood.
Can you even imagine what it would be like if they tried to impose this kind of gun ban in the US?
Americans wouldn’t be the least bit concerned with the price of their firearms, they’d be concerned with the death of their country.
Good for these kiwis for sticking to their guns. Literally.