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

OTTAWA, Might 30 (Reuters) - Canada's government introduced laws Monday to implement a "nationwide freeze" on the sale and buy of handguns as part of a gun management package that will also restrict magazine capacities and ban some toys that appear to be guns.

The new legislation, which resurrects some measures that have been shelved last yr amid a national election, comes just a week after a gunman killed 19 kids 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 increasing.

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

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

Authorities don't anticipate 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 legislation than the US but while its gun homicide fee is lower than one-fifth the U.S. fee it is greater than that of other wealthy countries and has been rising. In 2020 it was 5 instances Australia's rate.

The speed in every of 2020 and 2017 was the nation's highest since at the 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 move some firearms owners say they are contesting in court docket. Talking alongside Trudeau, Public Security Minister Marco Mendicino confirmed the "imminent launch of the initial section" of a program to buy again and compensate owners of such weapons.

While the Liberals have a minority of seats in Parliament, the legislation could pass with the assist of the left-leaning New Democratic Occasion.

The planned legislation would stop anyone subject to a protection order or who has engaged in home violence or stalking from acquiring or preserving a firearms license.

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

The brand new laws would also ban some toys that look like actual guns, reminiscent of airsoft rifles. Last week Toronto police shot and killed a person carrying a pellet gun. learn more

"Because they give the impression of being the same as actual firearms, police must deal with them as if they're real. This has led to tragic penalties," Justice Minister David Lametti told reporters.

Tom Stamatakis, president of the Canadian Police Affiliation, welcomed a few of the moves, such as the "crimson flag" provisions in the case of domestic violence, and mentioned he would like extra info on enforcement and resources for measures such as the handgun freeze.

He fully supported a crackdown on faux weapons, which he mentioned were a "huge challenge."

"You can't distinguish between what's a duplicate firearm and what's a real firearm, particularly when these incidences involving reproduction firearms occur usually in very dynamic, rapidly evolving circumstances."

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

He said authorities were not utilizing the instruments they already had to tackle gun violence, equivalent to calling people listed as references on gun license functions.

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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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