Correction: The new social media laws that went into effect were passed by Australia, not New Zealand; the headline has been edited to correct the error. Our apologies.

After a gunman killed 49 people in two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, it took about a week for Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to announce a ban on all assault weapons and “military-style automatic weapons.”

A lot of Americans cheered Ardern’s leadership, but Dana Loesch pointed out the reality of the ban, which included a mandatory buy-back of weapons:

A ban of semi-auto, with "assault weapons" broadly defined as having detachable magazine and accepting five or more rounds; a mandatory buyback/confiscation costing set $200m; authorities also to look at gun store records and follow up with customers on what they own. https://t.co/bQTXndqNrc — Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) March 21, 2019

Again, they rammed all that through in a week. And now, a couple of weeks later, New Zealand has new laws cracking down on violent content on social media.

Social media executives could be imprisoned for up to three years and companies could face penalties of up to 10% of their annual revenue if they do not remove violent content in an "expeditious" manner, under new laws in Australia.https://t.co/QaX0FZBZz1 — NPR (@NPR) April 4, 2019

… and this is why law-abiding gun owners in America appreciate the Second Amendment and how it protects the First Amendment.

Since they banned guns, what violence are they worries about? — Ben Crystal (@Bennettruth) April 4, 2019

I thought we were at least few years from getting there. Guess totalitarians are back, race is back All from the left this time. Yehaa! — Kekistillo (@Truxiello) April 4, 2019

I never thought I would see the left move towards totalitarianism in my lifetime. They aren't just moving that way, they found a bullet train. — Azimuth (@AzimuthBarnum) April 4, 2019

Soon "violent content" will mysteriously not include movies or video games, but WILL include "hate speech" — Yung Tesla, the Destroyer (@TheNostromoDos) April 4, 2019

Guaranteed.

So free speech is dead. This is how the erosion of individual rights begins. With a knee jerk reaction to a tragedy by impinging on the rights of all. 9/11 and the Patriot Act come to mind. — DabDub Bunchie (@TheBrownTiger) April 4, 2019

They should have kept their guns… — Goldens Rule (@jamesbranch3) April 4, 2019

Censorship is it terrible idea we're already facing a particular slanted type of censorship through the tech platforms and how does this make it any better by removing content that somebody else disagrees with? — G. (@SchwerePanzer) April 4, 2019

I made this point earlier. Killings have been blamed on musicians, video games, movies, slender man creepy pastas, etc. This love of criminalizing speech is going to get ugly. — Matthew (@Farmhand82) April 4, 2019

The answer to terrorism is not restricting free speech with vague laws. — Suresh Babu (@zurent) April 4, 2019

This was never about stopping terrorism. It's about control. — 2$ Taqiya Tuesdays! (@AquaWookie) April 4, 2019

Utter morons. — Mick (@MickClm) April 4, 2019

It’s the same approach London Mayor Sadiq Khan took after Muslim terrorists in a rental van with 12-inch ceramic knives strapped to their wrists ran down pedestrians on London Bridge, ditched the vehicle, and then began stabbing patrons at the Borough Market — he called for YouTube to crack down on videos that could encourage gang violence and knife crime.

And the rest of the free world moves closer and closer to totalitarianism — Arron J Vickery (@arronv) April 4, 2019

Whatever the medium books, TV, film, internet, or social media beware the the government that seeks to restrict the free flow of information from its people.

This is the very essence of tyranny. — ACW III (@acw37162) April 4, 2019

What’s sad is how so many Americans don’t truly appreciate the Bill of Rights. And that’s why Cory Booker can stuff it when he says he’s going to “take down” the NRA.

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