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

OTTAWA, Could 30 (Reuters) - Canada's authorities launched laws Monday to implement a "national freeze" on the sale and buy of handguns as part of a gun management package deal that will also restrict journal capacities and ban some toys that seem like guns.

The brand new laws, which resurrects some measures that had been shelved final 12 months amid a national election, comes only a week after a gunman killed 19 youngsters and two lecturers in their classroom in Uvalde, Texas.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters the new measures were wanted as gun violence was increasing.

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"We'd like 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 more difficult to counter," he mentioned.

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

Authorities don't anticipate a run on handguns in anticipation of the freeze, partially as a result of they're so heavily regulated already, an official mentioned in a briefing.

Canada has stronger gun legislation than the US but whereas its gun homicide fee is less than one-fifth the U.S. price it is greater than that of different rich nations and has been rising. In 2020 it was 5 instances Australia's price.

The rate in each of 2020 and 2017 was the country's highest since at the very least 1997, in line with Statistics Canada.

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

Whereas the Liberals have a minority of seats in Parliament, the legislation may move with the assist of the left-leaning New Democratic Get together.

The deliberate laws would prevent anyone topic to a protection order or who has engaged in domestic violence or stalking from acquiring or conserving a firearms license.

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

The new laws would additionally ban some toys that look like actual weapons, such as airsoft rifles. Final week Toronto police shot and killed a person carrying a pellet gun. read extra

"Because they give the impression of being the same as actual firearms, police need to treat them as if they're actual. This has led to tragic penalties," Justice Minister David Lametti told reporters.

Tom Stamatakis, president of the Canadian Police Association, welcomed a number of the moves, such as the "purple flag" provisions within the case of home violence, and stated he would love more info on enforcement and resources for measures such as the handgun freeze.

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

"You can not distinguish between what's a reproduction firearm and what's an actual firearm, particularly when these incidences involving duplicate firearms happen often in very dynamic, quickly evolving circumstances."

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

He said authorities weren't using the instruments they already needed to tackle gun violence, resembling 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, Modifying by Rosalba O'Brien and Richard Pullin

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