Last Friday, March 15, we covered the deadly terrorist attack that occurred in the Linwood and Al Noor Mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand. The death count as of March 15 was 49, but has since risen to 50.

Immediately following the attack in New Zealand, Prime Minister Jacinda Arden announced that New Zealand will make an effort to create stricter gun laws to make the country safer. She announced this on March 18, at a press conference, three days after the attack.

Three days after that on March 21, six days after the day of the attack, Arden announced the official ban of assault rifles in New Zealand.

As days pass after the shooting, citizens of New Zealand have come together to mourn the loss of their fellow citizens. In an effort to make the Islamic community feel safe, they have created human chains around Mosques and have raised awareness for the victims of these hate crimes.

I asked Junior Ariyanna Vialva, “Do you agree with the banning of the automatic riffle? Do you believe one incident is enough to declare a new law? America has had many more mass shootings, why do you believe a law like this has not been made here?”.

Vialva responded, “I do agree with the banning of the automatic rifle. Firearms are the common factor in mass shootings therefore the banning would help prevent more innocent lives from being taken. I believe one incident SHOULD BE [speaker’s emphasis] enough to declare a new law, but unfortunately America has a different mentality than others such as Australia. America has had many mass shootings and I believe the biggest cause is the inability for America to stray from their ingrained ways. From the beginning of American history, it has been all about dominance and the way that Americans achieve that dominance is through organized violence (wars; firearms, etc.)” 

For more details about the shooter and the events that took place the day of the attack, check out our story “New Zealand Terror Attack” by Noelle Hardin here at the Roosevelt Review.