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

OTTAWA, Might 30 (Reuters) - Canada's government launched laws Monday to implement a "nationwide freeze" on the sale and purchase of handguns as part of a gun management bundle that may additionally restrict magazine capacities and ban some toys that look like guns.

The brand new laws, which resurrects some measures that were shelved last yr amid a national election, comes only a week after a gunman killed 19 children and two academics in their classroom in Uvalde, Texas.

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

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"We'd like only look south of the border to know that if we do not take motion firmly and quickly it gets worse and worse and gets tougher to counter," he stated.

The handgun freeze would include exceptions, together with for elite sport shooters, Olympic athletes and security guards. Canadians who already personal handguns could be allowed to keep them.

Authorities do not anticipate 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 america however while its gun homicide charge is less than one-fifth the U.S. fee it's higher than that of different wealthy international locations and has been rising. In 2020 it was 5 times Australia's charge.

The rate in every of 2020 and 2017 was the nation's highest since at least 1997, in accordance with Statistics Canada.

Canada banned the sale and use of some 1,500 fashions 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 house owners say they are contesting in courtroom. Speaking alongside Trudeau, Public Security Minister Marco Mendicino confirmed the "imminent launch of the preliminary part" of a program to purchase back and compensate house owners of such weapons.

While the Liberals have a minority of seats in Parliament, the laws could pass with the help of the left-leaning New Democratic Celebration.

The deliberate legislation would prevent anybody topic to a protection order or who has engaged in domestic violence or stalking from obtaining or maintaining a firearms license.

It's going to also require long-gun magazines to be completely altered to allow them to never hold more than five rounds and can ban the sale and transfer of large-capacity magazines.

The brand new laws would additionally ban some toys that appear like 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 look the same as actual firearms, police must treat them as if they are real. This has led to tragic consequences," Justice Minister David Lametti told reporters.

Tom Stamatakis, president of the Canadian Police Association, welcomed some of the strikes, such because the "pink flag" provisions in the case of home violence, and stated he would love more info on enforcement and sources for measures such as the handgun freeze.

He utterly supported a crackdown on faux guns, which he stated have been a "big problem."

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

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

He mentioned authorities weren't using the tools they already needed to tackle gun violence, similar to calling folks 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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