<p class="title">New Zealand unveiled new legislation Friday aimed at ensuring only "fit and proper" people can own guns in the wake of the Christchurch mosque attacks that killed 51 Muslim worshippers.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern had immediately banned military style semi-automatic rifles after the shootings in March but said further restrictions were needed to target the black market.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"Owning a firearm is a privilege not a right," she told reporters in Christchurch on Friday.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"That means we need to do all we can to ensure that only honest, law-abiding citizens are able to obtain firearms licences and use firearms." Under the new legislation, a registry will be set up that is designed to track ownership of every legally owned firearm in the country.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The measure also increases the jail term for supplying firearms to an unlicensed person from three months to two years, as well as tightening gun importation and sales.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Police will determine if someone is "fit and proper" to hold a licence, with power to exclude anyone promoting extremism, convicted of violent crime or with mental health issues, including attempted suicide.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The register, expected to take five years to complete, will contain details of the estimated 1.2 million firearms in New Zealand, for a population of around five million. Police Minister Stuart Nash said the existing gun legislation was introduced in 1983 and needed updating.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The alleged Christchurch gunman Brenton Tarrant legally obtained an arsenal of rifles before embarking on the worst mass shooting in New Zealand's modern history. The self-avowed white supremacist is accused of opening fire at two mosques while livestreaming his actions on social media.</p>.<p class="bodytext">He has pleaded not guilty to 51 counts of murder, 40 of attempted murder and engaging in a terrorist act.</p>.<p class="bodytext">In addition to the semi-automatic ban, the first round of gun law reforms included a firearms buyback scheme allowing the public to hand in weapons before a six-month amnesty expires.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The Christchurch killings rocked New Zealand and Ardern's gun reforms have been generally accepted in the South Pacific nation.</p>.<p class="bodytext">There has been some opposition, including from the conservative ACT Party, which said law-abiding firearms owners were not receiving a fair hearing.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"We also oppose a gun register because such an exercise will cost a significant sum of taxpayer money but will not capture the criminals and gang members who hold firearms," ACT leader David Seymour said.</p>
<p class="title">New Zealand unveiled new legislation Friday aimed at ensuring only "fit and proper" people can own guns in the wake of the Christchurch mosque attacks that killed 51 Muslim worshippers.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern had immediately banned military style semi-automatic rifles after the shootings in March but said further restrictions were needed to target the black market.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"Owning a firearm is a privilege not a right," she told reporters in Christchurch on Friday.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"That means we need to do all we can to ensure that only honest, law-abiding citizens are able to obtain firearms licences and use firearms." Under the new legislation, a registry will be set up that is designed to track ownership of every legally owned firearm in the country.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The measure also increases the jail term for supplying firearms to an unlicensed person from three months to two years, as well as tightening gun importation and sales.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Police will determine if someone is "fit and proper" to hold a licence, with power to exclude anyone promoting extremism, convicted of violent crime or with mental health issues, including attempted suicide.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The register, expected to take five years to complete, will contain details of the estimated 1.2 million firearms in New Zealand, for a population of around five million. Police Minister Stuart Nash said the existing gun legislation was introduced in 1983 and needed updating.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The alleged Christchurch gunman Brenton Tarrant legally obtained an arsenal of rifles before embarking on the worst mass shooting in New Zealand's modern history. The self-avowed white supremacist is accused of opening fire at two mosques while livestreaming his actions on social media.</p>.<p class="bodytext">He has pleaded not guilty to 51 counts of murder, 40 of attempted murder and engaging in a terrorist act.</p>.<p class="bodytext">In addition to the semi-automatic ban, the first round of gun law reforms included a firearms buyback scheme allowing the public to hand in weapons before a six-month amnesty expires.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The Christchurch killings rocked New Zealand and Ardern's gun reforms have been generally accepted in the South Pacific nation.</p>.<p class="bodytext">There has been some opposition, including from the conservative ACT Party, which said law-abiding firearms owners were not receiving a fair hearing.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"We also oppose a gun register because such an exercise will cost a significant sum of taxpayer money but will not capture the criminals and gang members who hold firearms," ACT leader David Seymour said.</p>