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

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

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

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau advised reporters the new measures were needed as gun violence was growing.

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"We want only look south of the border to know that if we do not take motion firmly and rapidly it will get worse and worse and will get more difficult to counter," he said.

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

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

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

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, 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're contesting in court. Speaking alongside Trudeau, Public Security Minister Marco Mendicino confirmed the "imminent launch of the initial phase" of a program to buy again and compensate owners of such weapons.

Whereas the Liberals have a minority of seats in Parliament, the laws could go with the help of the left-leaning New Democratic Celebration.

The deliberate legislation would prevent anyone topic to a protection order or who has engaged in home violence or stalking from acquiring or conserving a firearms license.

It's going to additionally require long-gun magazines to be permanently altered so they can by no means hold more than 5 rounds and can ban the sale and switch of large-capacity magazines.

The new legal guidelines would also ban some toys that appear to be real guns, equivalent to airsoft rifles. Final week Toronto police shot and killed a man carrying a pellet gun. read more

"Because they appear the identical as real firearms, police have to treat 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 Association, welcomed a number of the strikes, such because the "red flag" provisions within the case of home violence, and stated he would really like more information on enforcement and sources for measures such as the handgun freeze.

He utterly supported a crackdown on faux weapons, which he mentioned had been a "massive problem."

"You cannot distinguish between what's a replica firearm and what's an actual firearm, particularly when these incidences involving reproduction firearms occur often in very dynamic, shortly evolving circumstances."

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

He stated authorities weren't utilizing the tools they already had to tackle gun violence, equivalent to calling individuals 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 Rules.