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

OTTAWA, Could 30 (Reuters) - Canada's authorities launched legislation Monday to implement a "nationwide freeze" on the sale and buy of handguns as part of a gun management bundle that would additionally restrict magazine capacities and ban some toys that appear like guns.

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

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau informed reporters the brand new measures have been wanted as gun violence was rising.

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"We'd like 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 will get harder to counter," he stated.

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

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

Canada has stronger gun laws than america however while its gun murder fee is less than one-fifth the U.S. rate it is increased than that of other rich countries and has been rising. In 2020 it was five times Australia's price.

The speed in each of 2020 and 2017 was the country's highest since at the very least 1997, in response to Statistics Canada.

Canada banned the sale and use of some 1,500 models of assault weapons, 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 homeowners say they're contesting in court docket. Talking alongside Trudeau, Public Security Minister Marco Mendicino confirmed the "imminent launch of the preliminary phase" of a program to purchase again and compensate owners of such weapons.

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

The deliberate laws would forestall anybody subject to a safety order or who has engaged in domestic violence or stalking from obtaining or maintaining a firearms license.

It should also require long-gun magazines to be completely altered so they can by no means maintain more than five rounds and will ban the sale and transfer of large-capacity magazines.

The brand new legal guidelines would additionally ban some toys that appear like actual weapons, equivalent to airsoft rifles. Final week Toronto police shot and killed a person carrying a pellet gun. learn extra

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

Tom Stamatakis, president of the Canadian Police Association, welcomed a few of the strikes, such because the "crimson flag" provisions in the case of home violence, and mentioned he would really like extra info on enforcement and resources for measures such as the handgun freeze.

He utterly supported a crackdown on fake guns, which he stated have been a "large challenge."

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

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

He stated authorities weren't using the instruments they already needed to tackle gun violence, similar to calling individuals listed as references on gun license purposes.

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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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