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

OTTAWA, May 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 management bundle that may also limit magazine capacities and ban some toys that seem like guns.

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

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

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"We need solely look south of the border to know that if we don't take motion firmly and quickly it will get worse and worse and will get tougher to counter," he said.

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

Authorities don't count on a run on handguns in anticipation of the freeze, partly as a result of they are so closely regulated already, an official said in a briefing.

Canada has stronger gun legislation than the US but while its gun homicide rate is lower than one-fifth the U.S. fee it is higher than that of other wealthy nations and has been rising. In 2020 it was 5 times Australia's rate.

The rate in every of 2020 and 2017 was the country's highest since not less than 1997, in accordance with 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 shooting in Portapique, Nova Scotia - a transfer some firearms owners say they are contesting in court. Talking 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 legislation may move with the assist of the left-leaning New Democratic Celebration.

The deliberate legislation would forestall anyone subject to a safety order or who has engaged in home violence or stalking from obtaining or keeping a firearms license.

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

The new laws would additionally ban some toys that appear like actual guns, akin to airsoft rifles. Last week Toronto police shot and killed a person carrying a pellet gun. learn more

"As a result of they appear the identical as actual firearms, police need to deal with them as if they're actual. This has led to tragic penalties," Justice Minister David Lametti informed reporters.

Tom Stamatakis, president of the Canadian Police Association, welcomed a few of the strikes, such as the "crimson flag" provisions in the case of home violence, and said he would like more info on enforcement and resources for measures such as the handgun freeze.

He fully supported a crackdown on pretend weapons, which he mentioned have been a "huge problem."

"You can not distinguish between what's a duplicate firearm and what's a real firearm, particularly when these incidences involving duplicate firearms occur typically in very dynamic, quickly evolving circumstances."

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

He stated authorities weren't utilizing the tools 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

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