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

OTTAWA, May 30 (Reuters) - Canada's government launched legislation Monday to implement a "national freeze" on the sale and buy of handguns as a part of a gun control bundle that would additionally limit magazine capacities and ban some toys that appear to be weapons.

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

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

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"We need only look south of the border to know that if we don't take motion firmly and quickly it gets worse and worse and gets more difficult to counter," he stated.

The handgun freeze would contain exceptions, together with for elite sport shooters, Olympic athletes and safety guards. Canadians who already own handguns would be allowed to keep them.

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

Canada has stronger gun legislation than the United States however while its gun murder price is less than one-fifth the U.S. fee it is increased than that of other wealthy countries and has been rising. In 2020 it was five instances Australia's fee.

The speed in each of 2020 and 2017 was the nation's highest since not less than 1997, according to Statistics Canada.

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

While the Liberals have a minority of seats in Parliament, the laws may move with the support of the left-leaning New Democratic Party.

The deliberate legislation would prevent anybody topic to a safety order or who has engaged in home violence or stalking from acquiring or holding a firearms license.

It should additionally require long-gun magazines to be completely altered so they can never maintain more than five rounds and can ban the sale and transfer of large-capacity magazines.

The brand new legal guidelines would additionally ban some toys that seem like real weapons, reminiscent of airsoft rifles. Final week Toronto police shot and killed a man carrying a pellet gun. read more

"Because they give the impression of being the same as actual firearms, police have to deal with them as if they're real. This has led to tragic consequences," Justice Minister David Lametti informed reporters.

Tom Stamatakis, president of the Canadian Police Association, welcomed a few of the moves, such as the "crimson flag" provisions in the case of domestic violence, and mentioned he would like extra information on enforcement and sources for measures such because the handgun freeze.

He completely supported a crackdown on faux guns, which he said were a "huge challenge."

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

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

He said authorities weren't utilizing the tools they already needed to deal with gun violence, such as 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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