Chelsea Handler says Jacinda Ardern sets a 'good example' with 'common sense' gun control laws

Reporter·NZ Herald·

2 Oct, 2019 10:30 PM2 mins to read

Chelsea Handler has praised Jacinda Ardern, ahead of her visit to Auckland next week. Photo / Getty Images.

CHELSEA HANDLER says Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern "is setting a good example" with her "common sense" decision to tighten gun control in the wake of the Christchurch mosque attacks.

The comedian and author believes other world leaders would do well to follow Ardern's Government's lead in banning military-style semi-automatics and assault rifles but laments the fact that US President Donald Trump refuses to change America's "senseless" gun laws.

I’ll be in Australia and New Zealand next week for my #LifeWillBetheDeathofMe stand-up tour. I’m so happy to be going to Australia and New Zealand: the two places that had one mass shooting and fixed the problem immediately.
— Chelsea Handler (@chelseahandler) September 28, 2019

Ahead of her new Life Will Be the Death of Me stand-up show at Auckland's Town Hall on October 9, Handler told TimeOut: "Obviously [Ardern's] famous everywhere for what happened after the shooting there.

"She's setting a good example. It's too bad we don't have anybody in our country who's willing to listen to it."

A long-time critic of the Trump administration, Handler says Ardern's response to the Christchurch shootings that claimed 51 lives was "the most common sense thing to do.

Handler's Life Will Be the Death of Me stand-up show hits Auckland's Town Hall on October 9. Photo / Supplied.

"It seems like the most common sense reaction any leader would have to a shooting," she says.

"It's so senseless, our gun laws in America. I mean, it's just so depressing every single day here. That's another reason why I like travelling and getting the hell out of this country."

Handler also touched on New Zealand's progressive stance on social media on Saturday, telling her 8.3 million followers: "I'm so happy to be going to Australia and New Zealand: the two places that had one mass shooting and fixed the problem immediately."