>>>>Here is another site (Australian) that shows the number of guns to about 30/100 civilians in NZ in 2016. http://www.gunpolicy.org/firearms/region/new-zealand
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>>Unlike Australia, most firearms in NZ are not registered, with lots of international purchases making it difficult to guess. What we can be sure of, is practically no handguns.
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>>>>I agree, there may be underlying reasons. But if there are, restrict access to guns (and especially the most lethal ones) until we figure them out.
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>>Interested to know how you think this restriction would work. Do you anticipate a gun buy-back program like the Aussies with the state effectively purchasing back weapons it wants out of civilian hands? Or are purchase restrictions sufficient despite 101 firearms per 100 population already in circulation?
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>>FWIW, the first US gun buyback program was in Baltimore in 1974. It was deemed a failure after firearm crime rose during the program.
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>Interestingly enough, in Australia, there has been no mass shooting recorded since the buyback. I have not seen a buyback program having been proposed in the US recently. There are other measures that may garner more support, like universal background checks for all gun buyers and for ammunition buyers, banning the high capacity magazines, the (expanded definition) assault weapons ban. You mentioned that in NZ these rifles are used (legally) exclusively for hunting, whereas here most would say it's the 2nd Amendment. However, I would require buyers to demonstrate the need for an assault weapon, even though that may not have much impact in this culture, but it would make people think twice before getting their hands on something like that. This laissez-faire attitude when it comes to guns is not helping anyone, including the responsible gun owners.
>More importantly, Congress needs to make it, and keep at as a priority until solutions are found.
>*

It's not a problem with garnering support -- seeing how about 85% of the population is in support of things like universal background checks. It's a matter of congress getting off their asses and actually representing the people who've elected them and doing something, and standing up to the NRA.