Canada introduces legislation to freeze handgun gross sales, ban look-alike toys

OTTAWA, Might 30 (Reuters) - Canada's government launched legislation Monday to implement a "national freeze" on the sale and purchase of handguns as a part of a gun control package deal that would additionally limit magazine capacities and ban some toys that seem like guns.

The brand new legislation, which resurrects some measures that have been shelved last year amid a nationwide election, comes only a week after a gunman killed 19 youngsters and two teachers in their classroom in Uvalde, Texas.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau advised reporters the brand new measures had been wanted as gun violence was growing.

Register

"We want solely look south of the border to know that if we don't take action firmly and quickly it gets worse and worse and will get more difficult to counter," he said.

The handgun freeze would include exceptions, including for elite sport shooters, Olympic athletes and safety guards. Canadians who already personal handguns would be allowed to keep them.

Authorities do not anticipate a run on handguns in anticipation of the freeze, in part because they are so closely regulated already, an official said in a briefing.

Canada has stronger gun laws than the US but while its gun homicide charge is less than one-fifth the U.S. rate it's greater than that of different rich international locations and has been rising. In 2020 it was five times Australia's rate.

The rate in each of 2020 and 2017 was the nation's highest since not less than 1997, in keeping with Statistics Canada.

Canada banned the sale and use of some 1,500 models of assault weapons, just like the AR-15 rifle, two years ago in the wake of a mass shooting in Portapique, Nova Scotia - a transfer some firearms homeowners say they are contesting in court docket. Speaking alongside Trudeau, Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino confirmed the "imminent launch of the initial part" of a program to purchase back and compensate house owners of such weapons.

Whereas the Liberals have a minority of seats in Parliament, the legislation might move with the support of the left-leaning New Democratic Celebration.

The deliberate laws would forestall anyone subject to a protection order or who has engaged in domestic violence or stalking from obtaining or preserving a firearms license.

It is going to also require long-gun magazines to be completely altered so they can never maintain more than 5 rounds and will ban the sale and switch of large-capacity magazines.

The new legal guidelines would also ban some toys that appear like actual weapons, equivalent to airsoft rifles. Last week Toronto police shot and killed a man carrying a pellet gun. read extra

"As a result of they give the impression of being the same as real firearms, police must treat them as if they're actual. This has led to tragic consequences," Justice Minister David Lametti advised reporters.

Tom Stamatakis, president of the Canadian Police Affiliation, welcomed a few of the moves, such as the "crimson flag" provisions within the case of home violence, and mentioned he would love extra info on enforcement and assets for measures such as the handgun freeze.

He fully supported a crackdown on faux guns, which he stated had been a "huge problem."

"You can't distinguish between what's a replica firearm and what's an actual firearm, notably when these incidences involving duplicate firearms occur often in very dynamic, shortly evolving circumstances."

Rod Giltaca, the pinnacle of the Canadian Coalition for Firearm Rights, stated the handgun freeze was "absurd."

He stated authorities weren't utilizing the instruments they already needed to sort out gun violence, resembling calling people listed as references on gun license applications.

Register

Reporting by Ismail Shakil in Ottawa and Anna Mehler Paperny in Toronto, Modifying by Rosalba O'Brien and Richard Pullin

Our Requirements: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.