Following the Christchurch mosque massacre in New Zealand on March 15th of this year, many have asked what New Zealand has done to prevent such a terrible loss of life from happening again. Charged with 50 counts of murder and 39 counts of attempted murder, Brenton Tarrant has appeared in court and made it apparent that his actions were likely based on his white supremacist ideology. New Zealand’s government, despite international advisements to do so, does not keep a comprehensive record of hate crimes. This also brings to the table what New Zealand plans to do about hate crimes. The Federation of Islamic Associations of New Zealand has even suggested that anti-muslim behavior has increased recently.
So what is being done?
Following Tarrant’s appearance in court, New Zealand has acted very quickly to reduce the chances of this happening again. Legislation completely banning semi-automatic weapons and assault rifles has been proposed and will likely be approved. A proposed bill forbidding the use of semi-automatic weapons, magazines, and parts to assemble such a weapon has been approved following its reading in Parliament. Only one legislator disagreed with the bill. If it is formally passed, the bill states that gun owners will have until September to return their firearms and be compensated.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has ordered a Royal Commission into the attack. This is a form of thorough inquiry. The commission will help the government better see what signs they may have missed leading up to the attack, and it will help the government organize resources for the support of vulnerable, marginalized communities. Moreover, Justice and Intelligence Services Minister Andrew Little has reported that the current hate speech laws in New Zealand are ineffective. His goal now is to investigate what needs to be done to improve this legislation and possibly propose that hate crimes become a separate criminal offense.
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