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

OTTAWA, Could 30 (Reuters) - Canada's authorities launched laws Monday to implement a "nationwide freeze" on the sale and purchase of handguns as a part of a gun management package deal that might also limit journal capacities and ban some toys that appear to be weapons.

The brand new legislation, which resurrects some measures that were shelved final 12 months amid a national election, comes just a week after a gunman killed 19 kids and two academics in their classroom in Uvalde, Texas.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters the brand new measures had been needed as gun violence was increasing.

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"We want only look south of the border to know that if we don't take motion firmly and rapidly it gets worse and worse and gets tougher to counter," he mentioned.

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 do not count on a run on handguns in anticipation of the freeze, partially because they are so heavily regulated already, an official said in a briefing.

Canada has stronger gun laws than the United States however whereas its gun homicide charge is lower than one-fifth the U.S. rate it is higher than that of different rich nations 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 no less than 1997, based on 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 within the wake of a mass capturing in Portapique, Nova Scotia - a move some firearms house owners say they are contesting in court docket. Talking alongside Trudeau, Public Security Minister Marco Mendicino confirmed the "imminent launch of the initial part" of a program to purchase back and compensate homeowners of such weapons.

While 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 prevent anybody topic to a protection order or who has engaged in domestic violence or stalking from obtaining or preserving a firearms license.

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

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

"Because they appear the identical as real firearms, police need to deal with them as if they are actual. This has led to tragic penalties," Justice Minister David Lametti told reporters.

Tom Stamatakis, president of the Canadian Police Affiliation, welcomed a number of the strikes, such because the "red flag" provisions within the case of home violence, and mentioned he would really like extra data on enforcement and assets for measures such as the handgun freeze.

He utterly supported a crackdown on faux guns, which he stated had been a "huge challenge."

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

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

He mentioned authorities were not utilizing the instruments they already needed to tackle gun violence, comparable to 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

Our Requirements: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.