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 deal that might also limit magazine capacities and ban some toys that look like guns.

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

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

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"We'd like 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 said.

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

Authorities do not count on a run on handguns in anticipation of the freeze, in part because 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 rate is less than one-fifth the U.S. charge it's greater than that of different rich nations and has been rising. In 2020 it was 5 times Australia's rate.

The speed in each of 2020 and 2017 was the country's highest since no less than 1997, according to Statistics Canada.

Canada banned the sale and use of some 1,500 models of assault weapons, just like the AR-15 rifle, two years ago in the wake of a mass taking pictures in Portapique, Nova Scotia - a move some firearms owners say they are contesting in courtroom. Speaking alongside Trudeau, Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino confirmed the "imminent launch of the preliminary section" of a program to buy again and compensate homeowners of such weapons.

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

The planned legislation would prevent anybody subject to a protection order or who has engaged in home violence or stalking from acquiring or conserving a firearms license.

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

The new laws would also ban some toys that appear to be actual guns, comparable to airsoft rifles. Final week Toronto police shot and killed a person carrying a pellet gun. learn extra

"As a result of they give the impression of being the identical as real firearms, police need to deal with them as if they're actual. 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 domestic violence, and said he would really like more information on enforcement and resources for measures such as the handgun freeze.

He utterly supported a crackdown on fake guns, which he stated have been a "massive problem."

"You can't distinguish between what's a replica firearm and what's a real firearm, significantly when these incidences involving replica firearms occur often in very dynamic, rapidly evolving circumstances."

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

He said authorities were not using the instruments they already needed to tackle gun violence, corresponding 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, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien and Richard Pullin

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