They didn't ban them they changed the license requirements to own them, something that they can do legally by regulation under the current law The ban will be

They didn't ban them they changed the license requirements to own them, something that they can do legally by regulation under the current law The ban will be done in parliament over then next week or so, looks like 95%+ of the currently elected MPs will vote for the change, all major parties in parliament, left and right, have publicly said that they agree with the changes. Remember that less than one person in 15 in NZ has a gun license, and even fewer own semi-automatics, it's a small minority affected by this change, it's not all that controversial (in NZ)