‘We are unified’: NZ agrees on gun reform laws after deadly Christchurch shooting

New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern announced on Monday that her cabinet had agreed “in principle” on gun reform laws, claiming they will make the country “a safer place” after Friday’s mass shooting at two Christchurch mosques.

Speaking to media following the cabinet meeting, Ardern said that her coalition was “unified” in bringing about gun law reform and that further details on their decisions would be released before cabinet meets again next week.

“This ultimately means that within 10 days of this horrific act of terrorism we will have announced reforms which will, I believe, make our community safer,” she said.

Ardern added that an inquiry would also be held to investigate the run-up to the shooting and why the gunman, a suspected white supremacist from Australia, had flown under the radar of intelligence and security services.

Also on Monday, a Christchurch gun shop acknowledged that they had sold the gunman four weapons and ammunition through a “police-verified online mail order process.” However, none of the items bought were semi-automatic weapons and it remains unclear if the weapons bought were used in last Friday’s attack.

Weapons used in the attack, which left 50 people dead and dozens more injured, included two semi-automatic rifles, two shotguns, and a lever-action weapon, according to Ardern.

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