Jul 22, 2019

New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern announces tough new gun law reform plan

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. Photo: Scott Barbour/Getty Images

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced at a press conference Monday plans for more gun restrictions in response to the Christchurch mosques terrorist attack.

The big picture: Her government outlawed possession of military-style semi-automatic guns and assault rifles in April, in the wake of the March 15 fatal shootings. Under the proposed new law, Ardern said there would be a national register for all firearms and tighter restrictions on who can obtain and retain a firearms license — including a gun purchase ban on visitors to New Zealand.

Go deeper: New Zealand PM announces inquiry into attacks, swift gun law changes

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Rebecca Falconer

New Zealand gun owners hand over 10,000 firearms in buyback scheme

Collected firearms at Riccarton Racecourse in Christchurch, New Zealand. Photo: New Zealand Police/Getty Images

Gun owners in New Zealand have handed in more than 10,000 firearms in a gun buyback scheme following the fatal mass shooting in Christchurch, police said in a statement issued to news outlets Monday.

Why it matters: NZ banned military-style semi-automatic weapons and assault rifles and introduced the buyback scheme after the March 15 massacre. The U.S. has seen multiple mass shootings, but gun rights advocates oppose such restrictions. Several Democratic 2020 candidates back gun control, calling for change after massacres in El Paso and Dayton this month.

Go deeperAug 12, 2019

Orion Rummler

Where 2020 Democrats stand on gun control

Warren and Biden on the debate stage on Jan. 14. Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images

Sen. Elizabeth Warren introduced a new gun reform bill on Thursday with Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.) that calls for raising the minimum age for all gun purchases to 21 and increasing the excise tax on gun sales to 30% and ammunition sales to 50%.

The big picture: 2019's mass shootings in El Paso, Texas; Dayton, Ohio; Virginia Beach; and near Odessa, Texas, have pushed 2020 Democrats to take harder stances on gun control than in the last presidential election, when Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton only briefly addressed the issue in their primary debate.

Go deeperUpdated Jan 30, 2020 - Politics & Policy

Erica Pandey, Courtenay Brown

What Corporate America is doing about guns

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

As the nation debates the best ways to curb mass shootings, America’s biggest companies are reconsidering their relationships with the gun industry.

Why it matters: The manufacturing, selling and transportation of guns is a complicated supply chain that touches much of corporate America, including retailers, banks and shippers. These corporations don't face partisan gridlock and can take action on guns swiftly, but the moves of a few companies won’t have the effect that new laws would.

Go deeperAug 8, 2019