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

OTTAWA, Might 30 (Reuters) - Canada's government introduced legislation Monday to implement a "nationwide freeze" on the sale and purchase of handguns as part of a gun control package deal that may also restrict journal capacities and ban some toys that appear like guns.

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

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau instructed reporters the new measures were wanted as gun violence was growing.

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"We'd like solely look south of the border to know that if we do not take motion firmly and rapidly it gets worse and worse and will get tougher to counter," he stated.

The handgun freeze would include 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, in part because they're so heavily regulated already, an official said in a briefing.

Canada has stronger gun laws than the USA but while its gun murder charge is lower than one-fifth the U.S. fee it is higher than that of other rich nations and has been rising. In 2020 it was 5 times Australia's charge.

The rate in each of 2020 and 2017 was the country's highest since at least 1997, in line with Statistics Canada.

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

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

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

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

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

"As a result of they appear the identical as real firearms, police have to deal with 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 Affiliation, welcomed some of the moves, such as the "red flag" provisions within the case of home violence, and stated he would love extra information on enforcement and sources for measures such because the handgun freeze.

He completely supported a crackdown on faux weapons, which he mentioned have been a "large challenge."

"You cannot distinguish between what's a duplicate firearm and what's an actual firearm, significantly when these incidences involving duplicate firearms occur typically in very dynamic, shortly evolving circumstances."

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

He stated authorities weren't utilizing the instruments they already had to tackle gun violence, such as calling individuals listed as references on gun license purposes.

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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.