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

OTTAWA, May 30 (Reuters) - Canada's government launched laws Monday to implement a "nationwide freeze" on the sale and purchase of handguns as a part of a gun control package deal that will also limit magazine capacities and ban some toys that appear to be weapons.

The new laws, which resurrects some measures that had been shelved last 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 told reporters the brand 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 action firmly and rapidly it will get worse and worse and gets harder to counter," he stated.

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

Authorities do not expect a run on handguns in anticipation of the freeze, in part as a result of they are so heavily regulated already, an official said in a briefing.

Canada has stronger gun laws than the US but whereas its gun murder rate is lower than one-fifth the U.S. charge it is larger than that of other wealthy nations and has been rising. In 2020 it was 5 occasions Australia's price.

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

Canada banned the sale and use of some 1,500 fashions of assault weapons, like the AR-15 rifle, two years in the past in the wake of a mass taking pictures in Portapique, Nova Scotia - a transfer some firearms owners say they're contesting in courtroom. Speaking alongside Trudeau, Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino confirmed the "imminent launch of the preliminary phase" of a program to buy back and compensate house owners of such weapons.

While the Liberals have a minority of seats in Parliament, the legislation could cross with the assist of the left-leaning New Democratic Celebration.

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

It would also require long-gun magazines to be completely altered to allow them to by no means maintain greater than 5 rounds and will ban the sale and switch of large-capacity magazines.

The new laws would also ban some toys that look like real weapons, equivalent to airsoft rifles. Final week Toronto police shot and killed a man carrying a pellet gun. read more

"As a result of they give the impression of being the same as real firearms, police need to deal with them as if they're real. This has led to tragic penalties," Justice Minister David Lametti informed reporters.

Tom Stamatakis, president of the Canadian Police Affiliation, welcomed some of the moves, such as the "purple flag" provisions in the case of domestic violence, and mentioned he would like more information on enforcement and resources for measures such as the handgun freeze.

He utterly supported a crackdown on faux guns, which he mentioned had been a "large challenge."

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

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

He mentioned authorities weren't utilizing the tools they already needed to tackle gun violence, equivalent to calling people listed as references on gun license functions.

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

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