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

OTTAWA, Could 30 (Reuters) - Canada's government introduced laws Monday to implement a "nationwide freeze" on the sale and purchase of handguns as part of a gun management bundle that would also limit journal capacities and ban some toys that appear like weapons.

The brand new legislation, which resurrects some measures that had been shelved final 12 months amid a nationwide election, comes only a week after a gunman killed 19 kids and two lecturers in their classroom in Uvalde, Texas.

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

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"We want solely look south of the border to know that if we don't take action firmly and quickly it gets worse and worse and gets harder to counter," he stated.

The handgun freeze would comprise 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 expect a run on handguns in anticipation of the freeze, partly as a result of they are so closely regulated already, an official mentioned in a briefing.

Canada has stronger gun legislation than the US but whereas its gun murder price is less than one-fifth the U.S. rate it is higher than that of other rich countries and has been rising. In 2020 it was five times Australia's rate.

The rate in each of 2020 and 2017 was the nation's highest since a minimum of 1997, in accordance 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 in the past in the wake of a mass taking pictures in Portapique, Nova Scotia - a move some firearms owners say they are contesting in courtroom. Talking alongside Trudeau, Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino confirmed the "imminent launch of the preliminary phase" of a program to buy again and compensate homeowners of such weapons.

Whereas the Liberals have a minority of seats in Parliament, the legislation might go with the help of the left-leaning New Democratic Party.

The planned laws would forestall anyone topic to a protection order or who has engaged in home violence or stalking from obtaining or keeping a firearms license.

It's going to also 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 transfer of large-capacity magazines.

The new laws would additionally ban some toys that appear like actual weapons, comparable to airsoft rifles. Last week Toronto police shot and killed a man carrying a pellet gun. read more

"Because they look the same as actual firearms, police must deal with them as if they're real. This has led to tragic consequences," Justice Minister David Lametti instructed reporters.

Tom Stamatakis, president of the Canadian Police Affiliation, welcomed a number of the moves, such as the "red flag" provisions within the case of home violence, and stated he would love more data on enforcement and resources for measures such as the handgun freeze.

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

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

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

He said authorities were not utilizing the tools they already needed to sort out gun violence, corresponding 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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