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

OTTAWA, Could 30 (Reuters) - Canada's government introduced laws Monday to implement a "nationwide freeze" on the sale and purchase of handguns as part of a gun control package that may additionally restrict magazine capacities and ban some toys that look like weapons.

The new legislation, which resurrects some measures that were shelved final yr amid a nationwide election, comes just a week after a gunman killed 19 children and two teachers in their classroom in Uvalde, Texas.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau instructed reporters the new measures have been needed as gun violence was growing.

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"We want solely look south of the border to know that if we do not take motion firmly and rapidly it will get worse and worse and gets harder to counter," he stated.

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

Authorities do not count on 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 legislation than the United States but while its gun murder rate is less than one-fifth the U.S. rate it's higher than that of different wealthy international locations and has been rising. In 2020 it was 5 occasions Australia's fee.

The rate in each of 2020 and 2017 was the country's highest since not less than 1997, according to Statistics Canada.

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

While the Liberals have a minority of seats in Parliament, the laws might pass with the assist of the left-leaning New Democratic Party.

The planned laws would stop anyone topic to a safety order or who has engaged in domestic violence or stalking from obtaining or keeping a firearms license.

It'll also require long-gun magazines to be completely altered so they can by no means maintain more than five rounds and will ban the sale and switch of large-capacity magazines.

The new legal guidelines would additionally ban some toys that seem like real weapons, akin to airsoft rifles. Last week Toronto police shot and killed a person carrying a pellet gun. read more

"Because they give the impression of being the identical as real firearms, police have to treat them as if they are actual. This has led to tragic consequences," Justice Minister David Lametti informed reporters.

Tom Stamatakis, president of the Canadian Police Affiliation, welcomed some of the moves, such as the "pink flag" provisions within the case of home violence, and said he would like extra info on enforcement and assets for measures such because the handgun freeze.

He completely supported a crackdown on faux weapons, which he said have been a "massive problem."

"You can't distinguish between what's a reproduction firearm and what's an actual firearm, significantly when these incidences involving replica firearms happen typically in very dynamic, shortly evolving circumstances."

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

He mentioned authorities were not utilizing the tools they already needed to tackle gun violence, similar to calling folks listed as references on gun license applications.

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

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