Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (screen capture)Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced new legislation that would place a national freeze on handgun sales across Canada.
“What this means is that it will no longer be possible to buy, sell, transfer or import handguns anywhere in Canada,” Trudeau said in a news conference. “In other words we’re capping the market.”
In case you missed it: We introduced legislation earlier today that, if passed in Parliament, will further strengthen Canada’s gun control laws. For more on what that means and why we’re taking these steps, watch this video and click this link: https://t.co/BYcdjI2mHe pic.twitter.com/2slVfkm6gY
— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) May 31, 2022
The new legislation would also require that long gun magazines have a maximum of five rounds before reloading.
Additionally, most owners of what Canada calls “military-style assault weapons” would be required to turn over their weapons to a government buyback program.
The freeze on handguns would allow for some exceptions, including for elite sport shooters, Olympic athletes and security guards. And Canadians who already own handguns would be allowed to keep them.
“Gun violence is a complex problem, but at the end of the day the math is really quite simple: The fewer the guns in our communities, the safer everyone will be,” the Prime Minister said.
The proposed freeze on handgun sales in Canada would stand in stark contrast to the approach to mass shooting in the United States.
The introduction of the legislation comes following two recent mass shootings in the United States. On May 24, a gunman entered an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, and fired more than 100 bullets, killing 19 children and two teachers.
On May 14, 10 people were killed in a racist mass shooting at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York.
Read more at the New York Times.
Canada would require most owners of “military-style assault weapons” to turn them over under a new proposed bill that is likely to pass. https://t.co/YAPnMFDTbr pic.twitter.com/zXhymQL4Bi
— The New York Times (@nytimes) May 31, 2022