Abstract
While gun law change sometimes occurs following mass shootings, often it does not, and little is known about what characterizes those mass shootings that do lead to legislative change. Adopting Birkland’s concept of the "focusing event," we examined the five mass shootings in New Zealand (NZ) over the last 50years to identify the elements of mass shootings that may make policy change more likely. Only the 2019 mass shooting in Christchurch has resulted in substantial, restrictive gun control legislation being enacted in NZ. Distinguishing characteristics of that event include its deadliness, and the perpetrator’s terrorist motivations, level of planning, use of military style semiautomatic firearms, attention seeking on social media, and his lacking any previous relationship with the victims. These factors seem to create a “psychological proximity” increasing the magnitude, or focal power, of an event for members of the public. Further research into this area is warranted.