New Zealand introduces flurry of new gun restrictions six months after Christchurch

New Zealand lawmakers introduced a sweeping set of new gun control proposals into Parliament on Friday, six months after a mass shooting in Christchurch targeting Muslim worshipers killed more than 50 people.

The new restrictions would accomplish several items that have been on lawmakers' agenda since the massacre, including creating a firearms registry that would link individual weapons to license holders; tightening requirements on obtaining a gun-owner's license; and ramping up penalties for firearms offenses, among other items.

The topline proposal, perhaps the bill's most controversial, would establish a "full registry" of license holders and details about the firearms and prohibited gun parts in their possession.

Two months have elapsed since New Zealand began a buyback program for semi-automatic firearms after Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern shepherded a near-total ban on these weapons through the legislature after the Christchurch shooting.