Less Than A Month After Mass Shooting, New Zealand Nearly Unanimously Passes Gun Reform

On Wednesday, New Zealand members of parliament voted 119 to 1 in favor of banning military-style semi-automatic weapons.

The vote came a few weeks after an armed gunman shot and killed 50 Muslims worshiping at two separate mosques.

After countless mass murders in the U.S. as a result of gun violence, Americans wonder when it will be enough. Many continue to fight for stricter gun legislation.

It took less than a month for New Zealand to almost unanimously agree in favor of changing their gun laws after the Christchurch attacks on March 15.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told lawmakers they were giving a voice to the 50 victims killed at the hands of a white supremacist gunman.

She refuses to acknowledge the person by name.

A visibly emotional Ardern told parliament on Wednesday:

"These weapons were designed to kill, and they were designed to maim and that is what they did on the 15th of March."

She added:

"We are ultimately here because 50 people died, and they do not have a voice. We in this house are their voice, and today, we have used that voice wisely."

The new changes to the 1983 gun reform will ban military-style semi-automatic weapons and parts that can be used to assemble firearms, according to BBC News.

It is believed the Christchurch gunman used high-capacity magazines in order for his AR-15 to accommodate more bullets.

Those in violation of the new laws will face between two to ten years in jail.

Thoughts and prayers, while appreciated, can only get us so far in the wake of multiple tragedies in the U.S.

All eyes are on the United States.

When is it going to be our turn for tighter gun reform?

New Zealand's gun reform bill is expected to become a law as early as Friday, as soon as the governor general grants royal assent, which is the method by which a monarch officially approves a piece of legislation.

New Zealand is part of the British commonwealth.