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

OTTAWA, Could 30 (Reuters) - Canada's authorities introduced legislation Monday to implement a "national freeze" on the sale and buy of handguns as a part of a gun management package that might also restrict magazine capacities and ban some toys that appear like guns.

The new legislation, which resurrects some measures that have been shelved last 12 months amid a nationwide election, comes only a week after a gunman killed 19 youngsters and two academics of their classroom in Uvalde, Texas.

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

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"We need only look south of the border to know that if we do not take motion firmly and rapidly it gets worse and worse and gets tougher to counter," he mentioned.

The handgun freeze would include 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 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 legislation than the United States however while its gun murder fee is lower than one-fifth the U.S. fee it is larger than that of other wealthy countries and has been rising. In 2020 it was five occasions Australia's price.

The rate in each of 2020 and 2017 was the nation's highest since at least 1997, in accordance 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 in the past in the wake of a mass shooting in Portapique, Nova Scotia - a transfer some firearms homeowners say they're contesting in court. Speaking alongside Trudeau, Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino confirmed the "imminent launch of the preliminary part" of a program to buy again and compensate house owners of such weapons.

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

The deliberate legislation would stop anybody subject to a safety order or who has engaged in domestic violence or stalking from acquiring or preserving a firearms license.

It is going to additionally require long-gun magazines to be permanently altered to allow them to by no means hold greater than 5 rounds and will ban the sale and switch of large-capacity magazines.

The new laws would also ban some toys that appear to be actual guns, similar to airsoft rifles. Final week Toronto police shot and killed a man carrying a pellet gun. learn extra

"Because they appear the same as real firearms, police need to deal with them as if they are real. This has led to tragic penalties," Justice Minister David Lametti advised reporters.

Tom Stamatakis, president of the Canadian Police Affiliation, welcomed among the strikes, such because the "red flag" provisions within the case of domestic violence, and stated he would like more information on enforcement and assets for measures such as the handgun freeze.

He fully supported a crackdown on fake weapons, which he mentioned have been a "large challenge."

"You can not distinguish between what's a duplicate firearm and what's a real firearm, significantly when these incidences involving replica firearms occur usually in very dynamic, shortly evolving circumstances."

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

He said authorities weren't utilizing the instruments they already had to tackle gun violence, comparable to calling people listed as references on gun license applications.

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

Our Requirements: The Thomson Reuters Trust Rules.