Justin Trudeau Introduces Law To Ban Handgun Sales And Claims "There Is No Reason" For Everyday Canadians To Own Firearms
In the wake of the Uvalde shooting last week, the conversation of gun control and gun violence has been at the forefront of our country. Canada has just introduced new legislation showing where they stand on this issue.
On May 24, 18-year-old Salvador Ramos walked into Robb Elementary School and opened fire on a classroom of children. He murdered 19 children and two teachers. While multiple families are grieving the loss of their babies, many politicians across the U.S. have already used this tragedy to spark a conversation about gun control. Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau has joined in by introducing new legislation that will severely restrict Canadians' chance to arm themselves.
Justin Trudeau Introduces Law To Ban All Handgun Sales
On Monday, Trudeau announced that his government is introducing a new law that will halt all sales of handguns throughout Canada by implementing a national freeze. "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."
"We recognize that the vast majority of gun owners use them safely and in accordance with the law, but other than using firearms for sport shooting and hunting, there is no reason anyone in Canada should need guns in their everyday lives," he continued.
This administration also plans to deter smuggling and trafficking "by increasing maximum criminal penalties and providing more tools for law enforcement to investigate firearm crimes." Additionally, the new bill bans long gun magazines from holding more than five rounds.
"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," Trudeau said. "We don't need assault style weapons that were designed to kill the largest number of people in the shortest amount of time."
Trudeau's administration is offering a buyback program for "assault-style weapons," which will be implemented by the end of this year. Over the last 10 years, about 55,000 new handguns are registered each year in Canada.