(AP)– New Zealanders have handed in more than 50,000 guns during a buyback program that ended midnight Friday.
The government banned assault weapons after a March massacre at two Christchurch mosques.
Authorities say the country will be a safer place as a result of the buyback, while critics say the process was flawed and many owners have illegally kept their weapons.
A parallel amnesty also let owners turn in guns without any questions asked. A lone gunman used a cache of semi-automatic weapons to kill 51 people during the mosque attacks.
