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 "national freeze" on the sale and purchase of handguns as part of a gun management package deal that would also restrict journal capacities and ban some toys that look like weapons.

The brand new laws, which resurrects some measures that had been shelved final year amid a nationwide election, comes only a week after a gunman killed 19 youngsters and two academics of their classroom in Uvalde, Texas.

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

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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 more difficult to counter," he stated.

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

Authorities don't expect a run on handguns in anticipation of the freeze, in part because they're so closely regulated already, an official mentioned in a briefing.

Canada has stronger gun legislation than the USA however whereas its gun murder fee is less than one-fifth the U.S. charge it's increased than that of different wealthy international locations and has been rising. In 2020 it was five occasions Australia's price.

The speed in each of 2020 and 2017 was the nation's highest since at the very least 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 in the wake of a mass shooting in Portapique, Nova Scotia - a transfer some firearms owners say they're contesting in court docket. Talking alongside Trudeau, Public Security Minister Marco Mendicino confirmed the "imminent launch of the initial phase" of a program to purchase again and compensate owners of such weapons.

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

The deliberate laws would forestall anyone topic to a safety order or who has engaged in domestic violence or stalking from obtaining or preserving a firearms license.

It would additionally require long-gun magazines to be completely altered to allow them to never hold more than five rounds and can ban the sale and switch of large-capacity magazines.

The brand new laws would additionally ban some toys that appear to be actual guns, similar to 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 need to deal with them as if they're real. This has led to tragic penalties," Justice Minister David Lametti informed reporters.

Tom Stamatakis, president of the Canadian Police Association, welcomed some of the strikes, such as the "crimson flag" provisions within the case of domestic violence, and said he would love more info on enforcement and assets for measures such as the handgun freeze.

He completely supported a crackdown on pretend weapons, which he mentioned were a "massive challenge."

"You can not distinguish between what's a reproduction firearm and what's an actual firearm, notably when these incidences involving reproduction firearms occur typically in very dynamic, rapidly 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 tools they already had to sort out gun violence, equivalent to calling people 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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