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

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

The brand new legislation, which resurrects some measures that were shelved last yr amid a national election, comes just a week after a gunman killed 19 youngsters and two teachers in their classroom in Uvalde, Texas.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau instructed reporters the brand new measures were wanted as gun violence was growing.

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"We need only look south of the border to know that if we don't take action firmly and quickly it will get worse and worse and gets harder to counter," he said.

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

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

Canada has stronger gun legislation than america however while its gun murder rate is lower than one-fifth the U.S. price it is greater than that of other rich international locations and has been rising. In 2020 it was 5 instances Australia's rate.

The speed in each of 2020 and 2017 was the country's highest since a minimum of 1997, in line 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 ago within the wake of a mass shooting in Portapique, Nova Scotia - a move some firearms owners say they are contesting in court docket. Talking alongside Trudeau, Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino confirmed the "imminent launch of the preliminary phase" of a program to purchase back and compensate owners of such weapons.

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

The deliberate laws would stop anybody topic to a protection order or who has engaged in domestic violence or stalking from acquiring or retaining a firearms license.

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

The new legal guidelines would additionally ban some toys that seem like real weapons, akin to airsoft rifles. Last week Toronto police shot and killed a man carrying a pellet gun. read extra

"Because they give the impression of being the same as actual firearms, police need to deal with them as if they are real. This has led to tragic penalties," Justice Minister David Lametti instructed reporters.

Tom Stamatakis, president of the Canadian Police Association, welcomed a number of the strikes, such as the "red flag" provisions within the case of domestic violence, and mentioned he would like more data on enforcement and resources for measures such because the handgun freeze.

He fully supported a crackdown on pretend weapons, which he stated had been a "large challenge."

"You can't distinguish between what's a duplicate firearm and what's an actual firearm, notably when these incidences involving duplicate firearms occur typically in very dynamic, shortly evolving circumstances."

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

He mentioned authorities were not utilizing the tools they already needed to deal with gun violence, corresponding 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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