In the aftermath of the Christchurch massacre, New Zealand did what many gun control advocates here want to see the US do. They heavily restricted guns, including banning so-called assault weapons.
While New Zealand has never been quite as free with guns as the US is, they used to be fairly decent within the context of gun rights on the world stage. Now, they’re not.
But at least they don’t have to worry about bad guys having guns, now do they?
More than 200 charges have been made against 20 people as part of a joint Australasian taskforce targeting motorcycle gangs.
A total of 28 search warrants were executed during a week – dubbed the “Week of Action” by Australian and New Zealand police – between August 5 and 9.
Police uncovered a synthetic drug laboratory in Auckland’s West Harbour and seized nearly 300kg of drugs.
More than $520,000 of cash and three firearms were also seized in the Waitematā, Auckland and Wellington region throughout the week.
Two other joint operations, involving New Zealand Customs and New Zealand Police, last week also saw drugs and cash seized, and assets restrained.
Wait…do you mean to tell me that people who can access nearly 700 pounds of drugs can also somehow get guns despite all the laws to the contrary?
Say it ain’t so!
Next, you’ll tell me there’s no Easter Bunny or Tooth Fairy.
Alright, time to be serious.
Look, the issue with gun control is and has always been that it restricts the rights of the individual while doing absolutely nothing to dissuade criminals from doing anything. If laws were sufficient to do so, the laws against armed robbery, murder, drug dealing, and so on would be more than enough. The fact that criminals break these laws with regularity suggests strongly that maybe the existence of laws is insufficient to deter bad people from doing bad things.
That includes getting guns that they shouldn’t have.
But what the laws do quite well, and why many figure this is the true purpose of such laws, is restrict ordinary people from having guns that they could use to defend themselves against threats to their own life and liberty, including those posed by their own government. Considering one of the entities that could most be threatened by armed citizens is the government, it’s not difficult to see why some ascribe nefarious intentions to government officials who seek to disarm those citizens.
In other, simpler terms, if they’re coming after your guns, there has to be a reason why, and since bad guys are getting them anyway, it isn’t likely to be because of crime.
New Zealand is a prime example of how that’s not working as claimed, but it’s far from the only one. Just look at major cities here in the US in anti-gun states. New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, all have more than enough criminals running around, armed to the teeth, and yet they keep taking guns from the people who have done nothing wrong.
It really does make one wonder what they’re up to.
Assuming we hadn’t already figured it out.
