New Zealand gun owners invoke NRA-style tropes in response to fast-tracked law change

(MENAFN - The Conversation) In the wake of the Christchurch terror attack, and the subsequent ban on military-style semi-automatic weapons , social media has provided a platform for gun owners.Media have examined the influence of the American National Rifle Association ( NRA ) in New Zealand. But there is an aggressive home-grown gun culture online. Read more: Why NZ needs to follow weapons ban with broad review of security laws Protecting 'our' guns The comment sections on a range of New Zealand firearms community Facebook pages reveal that the culture of many gun users is more extreme than the gun lobby wants us to believe. There are disturbing norms operating in local gun culture. On the day of the shooting, some people posting on firearms groups' Facebook pages expressed shock and sorrow. Others were immediately concerned about how it would affect them as firearms users. Contributors on some sites openly discussed watching the shooter's livestream. Some Kiwi Gun Blog Facebook posters were interested in what firearms he used. One posted: Some contributors to the page mentioned the victims of the attack but many clearly prioritised the perceived harm to firearms owners. Very sad day. My condolences go out to the families. Only one group of people going down after this … is licenced firearm owners unfortunately. Watch the sale of semi's [sic] go through the roof before the ban is announced. Bury your semi's now before they get taken off you. Other users enthusiastically agreed. In response to a later post inquiring whether proposed gun law changes mean that 'we would have to surrender our ar's [firearms]', a contributor replied 'lose them in a safe place'. Another said of police: … they will need a lot of search warrants and a team of people with spades. Yet another added,

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