A lone gunman, armed with two powerful semi-automatic rifles and other weapons, had entered two mosques, shooting dead 50 people and wounding 50 more. Ardern was applauded by many, but there was uncertainty about how the rural community that make up most of the country's quarter of a million gun owners, would react. Shaun Moloney, who culls pests including goats and wallabies across the South Island, said there was "definitely a place" for semi-automatic weapons with larger magazines for jobs like his. There all semi-automatic rifles and semi-automatic and pump-action shotguns are banned. Advocates say New Zealand's high gun ownership rates and low rates of gun violence are evidence of a system that works.

Source: bd News24 March 21, 2019 07:30 UTC