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

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

The brand new laws, which resurrects some measures that were shelved final yr 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 instructed reporters the new measures had been wanted 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 motion firmly and rapidly it will get worse and worse and gets more difficult to counter," he mentioned.

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

Authorities do not 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 america but whereas its gun homicide charge is lower than one-fifth the U.S. fee it's greater than that of other rich nations and has been rising. In 2020 it was five instances Australia's rate.

The rate in every of 2020 and 2017 was the nation's highest since at the very least 1997, in response to 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 move some firearms homeowners say they're contesting in court. Speaking alongside Trudeau, Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino confirmed the "imminent launch of the preliminary phase" of a program to purchase again and compensate owners of such weapons.

While the Liberals have a minority of seats in Parliament, the laws could cross with the support of the left-leaning New Democratic Party.

The deliberate laws would prevent anybody topic to a safety order or who has engaged in home violence or stalking from acquiring or preserving a firearms license.

It is going to additionally require long-gun magazines to be permanently altered to allow them to by no means maintain greater than five rounds and will ban the sale and switch of large-capacity magazines.

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

"As a result of they give the impression of being the identical as actual firearms, police need to treat them as if they are actual. This has led to tragic penalties," Justice Minister David Lametti advised reporters.

Tom Stamatakis, president of the Canadian Police Affiliation, welcomed some of the moves, such as the "purple flag" provisions within the case of domestic violence, and stated he would love more information on enforcement and resources for measures such because the handgun freeze.

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

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

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

He mentioned authorities were not using the tools they already needed to deal with gun violence, resembling calling individuals 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

Our Requirements: The Thomson Reuters Trust Ideas.