New Zealand government reaches agreement in principle on strengthening weapons laws after Christchurch massacre

The New Zealand government arrived on Monday "principle" agreement to toughen arms legislationannounced the Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, a few days after the attack on two mosques that killed 50 people.

"Many New Zealanders doubt that there are semi-automatic weapons available"said Ardern, who did not specify whether the reform would include, as it was supposed to announce, the ban on what type of weapons used during the attack.

According to Ardern, the details of the measures will be announced before an executive meeting next Monday, and considered that "the moment to act is now".

The New Zealand minister added that the reform will not be directed against the gun ownersespecially in rural areas, but encouraged those with arms at home to hand them over to the police.

"If someone has a weapon and is worried about Friday's events, we invite you to hand it to the police and I encourage you to do it"he said.

Andern also announced the opening of an investigation into the attack on two mosques Friday in Christchurch, who raised questions about how the alleged perpetrator – a white supremacist – It has not been detected by intelligence agencies.

A commission will review the series of events that preceded the attack, including New Zealand's travels and activities of the attacker, the Australian Brenton Tarrant, and the performance of several security and intelligence agencies of the state.

Among others, the Prime Minister stressed thate "behavior patterns" that typically precede this type of incident will be badyzed, iHe noted that the "high" alert level would be maintained.

Although the details have not been discussed yet, the speed of New Zealand's decision echoed around the worldespecially in the United States, where reforms have been in demand for decades and every time a mbadacre occurs, the same debate reappears.

Ardern pointed out that Friday's attacks "They revealed a series of weaknesses in the law of arms" of his country and that all the executive power agrees on the need to make changes.

"We make a decision as a government, we are united"added the New Zealand Prime Minister, accompanied by his coalition partner and deputy prime minister, Winston Peters.

Peters, whose New Zealand formation was opposed to the changes, said that he fully supported the prime minister.

"In reality, after 1 pm on Friday, our world has changed forever, and our laws too" he badured.

In the appearance, Jacinda Ardern also called on all social media to take action to prevent incitement to hatred and violence, after the live broadcast by Tarrant of the attack of the first mosque on Facebook.

Ardern badured that Facebook and Instagram continue to remove images from the attackor – after 24 million hours after removing 1.5 million videos from the network – but considered that these platforms could do more.

"I would call the social media platforms to demonstrate a sense of responsibility, there is a lot of work to be done"he insisted.

The Prime Minister announced that the New Zealand government had also agreed to hold an national level act in memory of the victims, whose date will be announced later to allow families to mourn this week.

(With information from AFP and EFE)