The Law and Order Select Committee has unanimously recommended that Parliament pass a bill to ban the wearing of gang patches in public places in Wanganui.
The bill was initiated and drafted by Wanganui District Council and is sponsored by National party MP for Whanganui, Chester Borrows.
It followed 18 months of gang violence in the area, which ended in the drive-by shooting of two-year-old Jhia Te Tua.
The Law and Order Select Committee says the council does not believe the bill will solve local gang problems, but believes it could form the beginning of a solution.
The Maori Party, the Green Party and the ACT Party opposed the Bill's first reading. They are not represented on the committee.
