Following the school massacre in Uvalde, Texas, Canada moved to make the sale of handguns illegal under a new law tabled in Ottawa on Monday.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, flanked by government officials and campaigners, proposed a nationwide gun freeze, citing rising killings in Canada and alluding to recent mass shootings south of the border.
“Handguns will no longer be available for purchase, sale, transfer, or import anywhere in Canada.” In other words, the market for handguns is being capped. People should be able to go to the store, school, or place of worship without fear, according to Trudeau.
The bill is very certain to pass the Canadian Parliament and is likely to be adopted this fall. The nation has previously announced intentions to ban 1,500 types of military-style rifles and introduce a high-capacity weapon buyback scheme.
Trudeau has always stated that reducing gun violence in Canada is a top goal for him, but his new legislation comes less than a week after the Robb Elementary School shooting and just days after a Buffalo grocery shooting on the Ontario border.
“Gun ownership in Canada is a luxury, not a right. This is a notion that sets us apart from many other countries across the world, particularly our southern neighbors and friends. Guns are only allowed to be used for hunting and sport in Canada, according to Bill Blair, the minister of emergency preparation.
US gun traffickers would face harsher criminal penalties under the new rule, and officials would have more resources to combat weapons crossing the border.
Anyone convicted of domestic abuse or criminal harassment would lose their gun licenses, and a red flag clause would oblige people deemed a threat by the judicial system to relinquish their guns. Under the law, rifle magazines would have to be permanently modified to carry a maximum of five shots.
According to government figures, the homicide rate in Canada has risen in recent years, with 743 murders recorded in 2020, the highest since 1991. In the same year, 22 people were killed in a mass shooting in Nova Scotia.
Following the tragedy in Texas on Tuesday, President Biden called on US politicians to act on gun control reform.
