A coalition of community groups and concerned citizens met yesterday in Auckland to discuss the Associate Justice Minister’s proposals to increase access to prohibited semi-automatic firearms. The meeting heard from a range of speakers and attendees, who are calling on the Government to honour the memory of the victims of Christchurch and rule out weakening the ban on these weapons of war.
“The brutal murder of 51 innocent worshippers and the attempted murder of another 40 in Masjid Al Nur and Linwood Masjid in Christchurch demonstrated the ruthless killing power of semi-automatic guns. These are specifically designed for military combat killing and should have no place in civilian usage. The March 15 terror attack unified our nation in aroha, and 119 MPs, across political lines, agreed to ban these weapons of war. This ban was the first of many pivotal lessons-learned so that our nation never again experiences such senseless mass killing. It is sad to see a gun-lobby politician has forgotten this tragedy and is disrespecting the shuhada and those wounded by bullets,” says Abdur Razzaq, Chairperson of FIANZ Royal Commission Submission.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Imam Gamal Fouda spoke movingly about his experiences in Masjid Al Nur as the building shook from the bullets, like the “shaking of the day of judgement”. He heard people saying their last words and believed that he too would die soon. “That day changed me and it changed New Zealand forever. It disturbs me that we now have to persuade our government to keep semi-automatic weapons out of the hands of the public. If we had learnt anything from that day, we would not be discussing this topic again.”
“It is unconscionable that these weapons of war could be made more available in our communities in order to allow a small number of people to simulate being soldiers in fantasy combat situations. Any increase in the availability of prohibited semi-automatic firearms increases the risk to our communities,” says Michael Wood.
“The Associate Minister of Justice represents a fringe view. She used to be a gun lobbyist. She personally advised the government against making law changes in 2017 that would have prevented the Christchurch terror attacks. We are pleased that the Prime Minister has said that no decisions have been made yet. We urge him to remember March 15 and rule out any changes that would put more of these dangerous weapons in our communities,” says Philippa Yasbek, co-founder of Gun Control NZ.
For further information contact:
Michael Wood
022 659 6360
Philippa Yasbek
021 202 4358
Abdur Razzaq
021 381 887