Canada plans to completely freeze the possession of firearms


The Canadian government has introduced legislation that would freeze the importation, purchase or sale of firearms.

“We are limiting the number of firearms in this country,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said. Regulations to stem the growth of personal handguns are expected to be enacted this fall.

“It will be illegal to buy, sell, transfer or import firearms anywhere in Canada,” the prime minister said.

Canada already has plans to ban 1,500 types of military-style firearms and offer a mandatory buyback program starting at the end of the year.

Trudeau said that if someone really wanted to keep their assault weapon, it would be completely inoperable.

Canada had already expanded background checks prior to this outright ban. Trudeau has long had plans to enact tougher gun laws, but the new measure’s introduction comes after mass shootings in Uvalde, Texas, and Buffalo, New York, this month.

Bill Blair, minister for emergency preparedness, said Canada was “very different from the United States.” “In Canada, gun ownership is a privilege, not a right,” he said. “This is a principle that differentiates us from many other countries in the world, in particular from our colleagues and friends from the South. In Canada, guns are only intended to be used for sporting and hunting purposes.”

Canada has had far fewer mass shootings than the US in part due to a lack of easy access to guns, although the US population is also much larger than Canada’s.

Blair said the weapons were often illegally smuggled from the US, which he said had one of the world’s largest stockpiles of small arms.

The Canadian government plans to combat gun smuggling and trafficking by increasing criminal penalties, providing more tools to investigate gun crime and strengthening border measures.

Trudeau said the increased funding has already helped border officials double the number of smuggled weapons seized at the US border. His administration also said the bill would allow gun licenses to be withdrawn from people involved in acts of domestic violence or criminal harassment such as stalking.

The bill would create a new “red flag” law that would allow courts to require that people deemed a danger to themselves or others turn over their firearms to police. The government said the move would protect the safety of those who apply during the process, often women at risk of domestic abuse, by protecting their identities.

Rifle magazines would be permanently modified so they can never hold more than five rounds, and the bill will ban the sale and transfer of high-capacity magazines.

“Canada can teach us a lot,” tweeted Bruce Heyman, a former US ambassador to Canada under the Obama administration.

Trudeau said his government recognized that the vast majority of Canadians who owned guns were responsible, but that the level of gun violence was “unacceptable.” “This is a real, concrete national measure to keep Canadians safe,” Trudeau said.

The new measures are likely to pass in Canada’s parliament as the ruling Liberals and the opposition leftist New Democrats have enough votes.

Pierre Poilievre, who is running to be leader of the Conservative Party, said law-abiding gun owners must be respected and dangerous criminals must be jailed.

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Trudeau said: “Other than using firearms for sport shooting and hunting, there is no reason why anyone in Canada should need a gun in their daily lives.

“We need less gun violence. We cannot allow the debate on weapons to become so polarized that nothing gets done. We cannot allow that to happen in our country. This is about freedom. People should be free to go to the supermarket, their school or their place of worship without fear.”



Reference-www.theguardian.com

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