How many days it took to create "future felons"? WE CAN DO IT OVERNIGHT!
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NZ is a f***ing mickey mouse gov
Who needs a f***ing legislature when the executive branch can do it with a pen and a phone/royal decree
If thats not tyranny......
Using the word "Journalism" in any context in reference to the guardian is dishonest.....
It propaganda and opinion at best and more often than not gets the facts wrong or represents without context
There’s a bit of a gap between What’s Banned: AR-15s/30rd Mags and What’s Not: 22lrs/10rd Tubular attached Mags - what do I think the bright line will be anything >22lr, >10rd tubular mags with any “feature” (Pistol grip, muzzle device, etc.).Clarifications on the NZ Ban: A closer look at New Zealand's new weapons ban
Why Can’t We Pass Gun Laws Like New Zealand?
The difference in comparing the U.S. and New Zealand rests on some of the countries’ other characteristics. New Zealand does not have the right of gun ownership written into its constitution, which, no matter how you interpret the Second Amendment, certainly is an advantage in broad gun reform. The gun culture of New Zealand is not as steeped in its foundational myths as the gun culture of the U.S. is. Lobbying is not a constitutional right in New Zealand—it’s treated as somewhere between curiosity and a potentially pernicious phenomenon. Political campaign funding has lately become an issue, but it is not the case that donors have great sway over elected officials. There’s no powerful gun lobby to influence elections because even the political party contesting the most seats in the general election spends less than NZ$3 million (a little more than $2 million).
But with all those differences noted, a major factor in American democratic dysfunction is the sheer size of its demographics. It is hard to be a government for the people and by the people when the number of people approaches a third of a billion.
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On the plus side, our enormity and our strength do mean that when we get something right, even a little right, the benefits to us and to the world can be enormous. We’re like a huge conglomerate that might have a profit margin of only 1 percent, but we make up for it in volume. Then again, when we get it wrong, even when we get it a little wrong, even when the question is tough, it reverberates far and wide. Think of the Arab Spring. It was a legitimately tough call to decide which rulers to back, which insurgencies to oppose, whom to topple, whom to grudgingly support in the name of stability, and whom to attempt to weaken in the name of freedom. The U.S. certainly misstepped along the way, all hard-to-avoid errors that have far greater consequence than anything Sweden, Norway, Iceland, or New Zealand ever has the opportunity to accomplish.
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The New Zealand Constitution | New Zealand Now
We do not have a grand, overarching constitutional document like the Constitution of the USA. But we do have a constitution - it is just made up of different tools of power.
As in many countries with a heritage of British-style government, our constitution is spread across a range of formal documents, decisions and conventions. These include:
Put together, these define what the major institutions of government are, what powers they have and how they can use them.
- Acts of Parliament
- legal documents (‘Letters Patent’)
- decisions of the Courts
- generally accepted practices or ‘conventions’.
New Zealand is a parliamentary democracy
Many countries these days have a President. That can be a powerful role, as it is in the USA or South Africa, or it can be a more ceremonial role, as it is in Germany or Israel.
Other countries, like the UK and Malaysia, have a King or Queen whose role is also mainly ceremonial.
New Zealand’s constitutional setup is more like that of the UK and similar to what you will find in Australia and Canada.
Yes. It worked, unfortunately.
Iran
View attachment 275448
Opinion: Jacinda Ardern is getting things right in New Zealand | DW | 21.03.2019
View attachment 275449
When defenseless people are killed by terrorists, the general sense of consternation and shock can often be paralyzing. Politicians take refuge in platitudes. Others demand that laws be dramatically tightened, or hold entire societal groups collectively liable for the actions of individuals.
New Zealand — and above all its prime minister, Jacinda Ardern — is an example of how such a terrible, murderous act can be dealt with differently. After the Christchurch attacks, Ardern did a lot of things right. She wore a headscarf when visiting the local Muslim community. She opened the next parliamentary session with the Arabic message of peace, "As-Salaam Alaikum." And she refused to speak the attacker's name. Her message: I am on the side of the Muslim victims. And: Muslims belong to us.
Swift and unbureaucratic
Shortly after the attack by the right-wing extremist, Islamophobic perpetrator, Ardern also announced that gun laws would be tightened, and her government has implemented this change swiftly and unbureaucratically. The new legislation bans the sale and possession of semi-automatic weapons and assault rifles. The government will also buy back such weapons from people who bought them legally. In order to do this, the New Zealand government is preparing to spend the equivalent of €120 million ($140 million).
Sometimes politics can be this simple, this insightful, and this sensible. Ostracize the perpetrator. Name the victims, and give their suffering a voice. And promise them that you will do everything you can to ensure that nothing like this ever happens again — by restricting access to automatic weapons. Because people almost everywhere in the world know that fewer weapons means greater security. (And in places where they don't know it, things seem to go badly wrong nonetheless.)
A quotation from the German poet Friedrich Hölderlin provides a succinct description of what is currently happening in New Zealand: "Where danger is, the rescue grows as well." It's time to thank Prime Minister Ardern for her conduct following the terrorist attack in Christchurch.
There’s a bit of a gap between What’s Banned: AR-15s/30rd Mags and What’s Not: 22lrs/10rd Tubular attached Mags - what do I think the bright line will be anything >22lr, >10rd tubular mags with any “feature” (Pistol grip, muzzle device, etc.).
Every year they *don’t* have a mass killing will prove the ban works. Any mass killing at all proves they have to “crack down” harder on guns.
After the Christchurch attacks, Ardern did a lot of things right. She wore a headscarf when visiting the local Muslim community. She opened the next parliamentary session with the Arabic message of peace, "As-Salaam Alaikum." And she refused to speak the attacker's name. Her message: I am on the side of the Muslim victims. And: Muslims belong to us.
Yes, the ban will be proven to work based on the "shark repellent" philosophy....
Women's instinctive behavior in the face of hostility is to placate and then submit. This strategy conferred a reproductive advantage relative to women who fought, which is why women do it.
Men who attempt to placate and then submit to the mercy of other men are generally not so successful, which is why men's instinctive behavior in the face of hostility is to attempt to establish dominance by force. Someone is going to end up face down in the ditch with their throat cut, better them than you.
It makes people uncomfortable to think of humans as instinctive animals. People don’t think it be like it is, but it do.
It makes people uncomfortable to think of humans as instinctive animals. People don’t think it be like it is, but it do.
This is exactly it. Then when a bear appears, the reaction is to add moar of a bear patrol presence despite the fact that the previous bear patrol was useless
Because people almost everywhere in the world know that fewer weapons means greater security
Are you implying that, mayhaps, women wouldn't make the best candidates for leadership positions such as Prime Minister?Women's instinctive behavior in the face of hostility is to placate and then submit. This strategy conferred a reproductive advantage relative to women who fought, which is why women do it.
Men who attempt to placate and then submit to the mercy of other men are generally not so successful, which is why men's instinctive behavior in the face of hostility is to attempt to establish dominance by force. Someone is going to end up face down in the ditch with their throat cut, better them than you.
Why Can’t We Pass Gun Laws Like New Zealand?
The difference in comparing the U.S. and New Zealand rests on some of the countries’ other characteristics. New Zealand does not have the right of gun ownership written into its constitution, which, no matter how you interpret the Second Amendment, certainly is an advantage in broad gun reform. The gun culture of New Zealand is not as steeped in its foundational myths as the gun culture of the U.S. is. Lobbying is not a constitutional right in New Zealand—it’s treated as somewhere between curiosity and a potentially pernicious phenomenon. Political campaign funding has lately become an issue, but it is not the case that donors have great sway over elected officials. There’s no powerful gun lobby to influence elections because even the political party contesting the most seats in the general election spends less than NZ$3 million (a little more than $2 million).
But with all those differences noted, a major factor in American democratic dysfunction is the sheer size of its demographics. It is hard to be a government for the people and by the people when the number of people approaches a third of a billion.
---------------
On the plus side, our enormity and our strength do mean that when we get something right, even a little right, the benefits to us and to the world can be enormous. We’re like a huge conglomerate that might have a profit margin of only 1 percent, but we make up for it in volume. Then again, when we get it wrong, even when we get it a little wrong, even when the question is tough, it reverberates far and wide. Think of the Arab Spring. It was a legitimately tough call to decide which rulers to back, which insurgencies to oppose, whom to topple, whom to grudgingly support in the name of stability, and whom to attempt to weaken in the name of freedom. The U.S. certainly misstepped along the way, all hard-to-avoid errors that have far greater consequence than anything Sweden, Norway, Iceland, or New Zealand ever has the opportunity to accomplish.
------------------------------------------
The New Zealand Constitution | New Zealand Now
We do not have a grand, overarching constitutional document like the Constitution of the USA. But we do have a constitution - it is just made up of different tools of power.
As in many countries with a heritage of British-style government, our constitution is spread across a range of formal documents, decisions and conventions. These include:
Put together, these define what the major institutions of government are, what powers they have and how they can use them.
- Acts of Parliament
- legal documents (‘Letters Patent’)
- decisions of the Courts
- generally accepted practices or ‘conventions’.
New Zealand is a parliamentary democracy
Many countries these days have a President. That can be a powerful role, as it is in the USA or South Africa, or it can be a more ceremonial role, as it is in Germany or Israel.
Other countries, like the UK and Malaysia, have a King or Queen whose role is also mainly ceremonial.
New Zealand’s constitutional setup is more like that of the UK and similar to what you will find in Australia and Canada.
Why Can’t We Pass Gun Laws Like New Zealand?
The difference in comparing the U.S. and New Zealand rests on some of the countries’ other characteristics. New Zealand does not have the right of gun ownership written into its constitution, which, no matter how you interpret the Second Amendment, certainly is an advantage in broad gun reform. The gun culture of New Zealand is not as steeped in its foundational myths as the gun culture of the U.S. is. Lobbying is not a constitutional right in New Zealand—it’s treated as somewhere between curiosity and a potentially pernicious phenomenon. Political campaign funding has lately become an issue, but it is not the case that donors have great sway over elected officials. There’s no powerful gun lobby to influence elections because even the political party contesting the most seats in the general election spends less than NZ$3 million (a little more than $2 million).
But with all those differences noted, a major factor in American democratic dysfunction is the sheer size of its demographics. It is hard to be a government for the people and by the people when the number of people approaches a third of a billion.
---------------
On the plus side, our enormity and our strength do mean that when we get something right, even a little right, the benefits to us and to the world can be enormous. We’re like a huge conglomerate that might have a profit margin of only 1 percent, but we make up for it in volume. Then again, when we get it wrong, even when we get it a little wrong, even when the question is tough, it reverberates far and wide. Think of the Arab Spring. It was a legitimately tough call to decide which rulers to back, which insurgencies to oppose, whom to topple, whom to grudgingly support in the name of stability, and whom to attempt to weaken in the name of freedom. The U.S. certainly misstepped along the way, all hard-to-avoid errors that have far greater consequence than anything Sweden, Norway, Iceland, or New Zealand ever has the opportunity to accomplish.
------------------------------------------
The New Zealand Constitution | New Zealand Now
We do not have a grand, overarching constitutional document like the Constitution of the USA. But we do have a constitution - it is just made up of different tools of power.
As in many countries with a heritage of British-style government, our constitution is spread across a range of formal documents, decisions and conventions. These include:
Put together, these define what the major institutions of government are, what powers they have and how they can use them.
- Acts of Parliament
- legal documents (‘Letters Patent’)
- decisions of the Courts
- generally accepted practices or ‘conventions’.
New Zealand is a parliamentary democracy
Many countries these days have a President. That can be a powerful role, as it is in the USA or South Africa, or it can be a more ceremonial role, as it is in Germany or Israel.
Other countries, like the UK and Malaysia, have a King or Queen whose role is also mainly ceremonial.
New Zealand’s constitutional setup is more like that of the UK and similar to what you will find in Australia and Canada.
...New Zealand doesn’t have direct registration of firearms either. Instead, they have registration of gun owners. Each owner must be permitted to lawfully own a firearm. So the government knows who has what through gun store records and what category of license they posses.
So the government knows that there are 245,000 firearms licenses and of those; 7,500 are E-Category licences and 485 are dealers. From dealer records they know that there are 13,500 firearms which require the owner to have an E Category license. This is effectively the known number of “military-style” semi-automatics (MSSAs) before today’s changes....
I meet a lot of good immigrants who have taken the legal road to US Citizenship and work in industry - they often extol the virtues of the US and our way of government but express some quibbles with our specific Constitutional text or interpretation. I usually give them a US Constitution/Declaration of Independence pocket copy (I bought a case for $1 each way back) and tell them to draw a pencil line through the parts we didin’t need to be the country they wanted to emigrate to rather than Canada, England, etc.
They usually get it quickly. But I add that just because we don’t change the text doesn’t mean we all agree on what is means. As Alexis de Tocqueville said in observation of Americans in his 1835 Democracy in America, every American from all walks of life talks about government and politics as a daily point of conversation rather than restricting such discourse to the elite ruling class. I don’t wear a MAGA hat - I need a AISG hate “America Is Still Great.”
Are you implying that, mayhaps, women wouldn't make the best candidates for leadership positions such as Prime Minister?
My admittedly limited experience with US citizens of former communist nations is they hate communism, love America but espouse communist thinking. Almost like they're all for communism as long as it's a western government that's running the show.
I had an older physics teacher in HS that hated Stalin with a vengence I'd never seen before. Most of her extended family was killed in WWII and by the government right after it ended. A group of us actually traveled to Russia with her in 1999 to see St Petersburgh and Moscow.