Leadership. Six days after the slaughter of 50 Muslims in their mosques, New Zealand has banned assault weapons. From the Washington Post.
New Zealand has banned military-style semiautomatic weapons and assault rifles, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced Thursday, just six days after attacks on two mosques in Christchurch that left 50 people dead.
A buyback program will be launched to take existing weapons out of circulation, and gun owners who do not comply will be subject to fines, she said.
Ardern also declared a two-minute moment of silence Friday and announced the Muslim call to prayer would be broadcast on government TV and radio.
Donald Trump has not yet issued a specific acknowledgment of the targeting of Muslims in the mass killing. He has, however, gone on an unhinged tear against the late Sen. John McCain, which drew the front-page coverage it deserved in today’s New York Times.