Definition: In this task, a passage will be given and the goal is to identify an event from the passage. An event is defined as a single word representing something that happened, is happening, or may happen. An event can be factual or hypothetical, positive or negative, certain or uncertain. While most events are based on verbs, an event can also be based on a noun (ex. storm, snow, rainfall) or a copula verb (is, was, been, etc.). The event must not be a pronoun or an adjective. For noun events with multiple words, use the last word in the phrase as event.
Input: Passage: The initiative was launched in 1996, within days of a massacre of 35 people in Port Arthur, Tasmania, by a gunman using semi-automatic weapons. Under the new law, the federal government banned semi-automatics and pump-action rifles and shotguns and offered to buy these weapons from gunowners, using a levy on income tax.

banned