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

OTTAWA, Could 30 (Reuters) - Canada's authorities launched laws Monday to implement a "national freeze" on the sale and buy of handguns as part of a gun control package that will additionally restrict journal capacities and ban some toys that appear like guns.

The brand new laws, which resurrects some measures that were shelved last yr amid a national election, comes only a week after a gunman killed 19 youngsters and two lecturers in their classroom in Uvalde, Texas.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau instructed reporters the new measures had been wanted as gun violence was increasing.

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"We need 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 gets tougher to counter," he stated.

The handgun freeze would contain exceptions, including for elite sport shooters, Olympic athletes and security guards. Canadians who already personal handguns can be allowed to keep them.

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

Canada has stronger gun laws than the US but whereas its gun murder charge is less than one-fifth the U.S. fee it's increased than that of other rich countries and has been rising. In 2020 it was 5 occasions Australia's price.

The speed in each of 2020 and 2017 was the nation's highest since at the very least 1997, based on Statistics Canada.

Canada banned the sale and use of some 1,500 fashions of assault weapons, like the AR-15 rifle, two years ago in the wake of a mass capturing in Portapique, Nova Scotia - a transfer some firearms homeowners say they are contesting in court. Speaking alongside Trudeau, Public Security Minister Marco Mendicino confirmed the "imminent launch of the preliminary phase" of a program to purchase back and compensate house owners of such weapons.

While the Liberals have a minority of seats in Parliament, the legislation may cross with the support of the left-leaning New Democratic Celebration.

The deliberate laws would stop anyone topic to a protection order or who has engaged in domestic violence or stalking from acquiring or maintaining a firearms license.

It will additionally require long-gun magazines to be completely altered to allow them to by no means hold more than 5 rounds and can ban the sale and switch of large-capacity magazines.

The new laws would also ban some toys that look like real weapons, akin to airsoft rifles. Last week Toronto police shot and killed a person carrying a pellet gun. read more

"Because they look the identical as actual firearms, police need to treat them as if they are real. This has led to tragic consequences," Justice Minister David Lametti instructed reporters.

Tom Stamatakis, president of the Canadian Police Association, welcomed among the moves, such because the "red flag" provisions in the case of home violence, and said he would love more info on enforcement and assets for measures such as the handgun freeze.

He utterly supported a crackdown on fake weapons, which he stated were a "huge problem."

"You can not 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, shortly evolving circumstances."

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

He said authorities weren't using the tools they already needed to tackle 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, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien and Richard Pullin

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