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

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

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

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau instructed reporters the new measures were needed as gun violence was increasing.

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

The handgun freeze would include 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 anticipate a run on handguns in anticipation of the freeze, in part as a result of they're so heavily regulated already, an official stated in a briefing.

Canada has stronger gun laws than the USA however while its gun homicide fee is less than one-fifth the U.S. price it's greater than that of other wealthy nations and has been rising. In 2020 it was five occasions Australia's fee.

The speed in each of 2020 and 2017 was the nation'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 in the past in the wake of a mass shooting in Portapique, Nova Scotia - a transfer some firearms owners say they are contesting in court. Speaking alongside Trudeau, Public Security Minister Marco Mendicino confirmed the "imminent launch of the preliminary section" of a program to buy again and compensate owners of such weapons.

While the Liberals have a minority of seats in Parliament, the legislation might move with the support of the left-leaning New Democratic Celebration.

The deliberate laws would forestall anybody topic to a safety order or who has engaged in home violence or stalking from acquiring or keeping a firearms license.

It would additionally require long-gun magazines to be permanently altered so they can by no means hold more than five rounds and can ban the sale and transfer of large-capacity magazines.

The brand new legal guidelines would also ban some toys that appear to be actual weapons, comparable to airsoft rifles. Final week Toronto police shot and killed a man carrying a pellet gun. read extra

"As a result of they give the impression of being the identical as real firearms, police have to deal with them as if they are real. This has led to tragic consequences," Justice Minister David Lametti advised reporters.

Tom Stamatakis, president of the Canadian Police Affiliation, welcomed a number of the strikes, such as the "crimson flag" provisions in the case of domestic violence, and mentioned he would like more information on enforcement and assets for measures such as the handgun freeze.

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

"You cannot distinguish between what's a reproduction firearm and what's a real firearm, notably when these incidences involving duplicate firearms occur typically in very dynamic, rapidly evolving circumstances."

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

He mentioned authorities were not using the tools they already needed to tackle gun violence, such as calling folks listed as references on gun license purposes.

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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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