The Weekend Mashup: Yet another mass shooting in the US and how NZ's gun laws stack up

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It’s all about weapons on The Mashup this week.

Earlier this week news broke of another US mass shooting, this time in California, in which 14 people were killed and a further 17 wounded.

Despite the tragic nature of the events, the reaction that followed was routine: “our thoughts and prayer” tweets from congressmen sponsored by the National Rifle Association (NRA); US president Barack Obama condemning gun violence and advocating restrictions on firearms; the NRA condemning Mr Obama’s calls...

It has all happened before and, in all likelihood, will happen again.

NBR’s Nathan Smith, Nick Grant, Jason Walls and Andrew Patterson talk about what if anything at all can be done to stop – or at the very least – slow down the shootings.

To qualify as a mass shooting, at least four people have to be killed or wounded in an attack. So far this year, there have been 353 mass shootings in the US – almost 1.05 a day.

There is even a website that tracks the number of shootings.

Then again, as one Mashup member notes, “When you look at the numbers, there are 3.2 people killed per 100,000 in the US. There are roughly 360 million legal firearms in the US. The takeaway for me here is how few gun murders there are, given the number of guns in circulation and the number of people there are.”

That’s an extremely optimistic view of the situation, opined another. The issue of gun ownership also had a local angle this week.

Following a story on MediaWorks' Story about an apparent loophole when buying guns online in New Zealand, Heather Du Plessis-Allan’s Wellington apartment was raided by police.

Are the police overreaching? The Mashup members share their views.

Where is The Rumble?
As you may have noticed, a few things have changed. The Rumble has undergone a makeover and is now The Mashup – a sleeker, tighter version of its predecessor. NBR’s primary broadcaster Andrew Patterson has taken the reins and listeners can look forward to a 15-minute dive into one of the week’s most compelling news stories.

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