Gun stores in Canada sold out of handguns after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau last week proposed freezing pistol sales as part of new gun control legislation.
Hopeful gun buyers interviewed by Agence-France Presse said the possibility of a pistol sale ban prompted them to seek the forbidden guns for fear they could miss out if they don’t take action.
“I’m concerned that if I don’t buy one now, I may never have the choice again,” one prospective gun buyer and sportsman club member, Aman Sandhu, said.
According to AFP, gun enthusiasts have flocked to stores after Trudeau’s office last Monday said it could prohibit sales, purchases and transfers of new handguns in Canada.
“Several gun stores in British Columbia province saw lines out the door within hours of the liberal leader’s declaration on Monday. Other shops across Canada said they sold out within days,” AFP reports.
Gun store owners speaking to AFP also described selling out of handguns, which require a restricted firearms license in order to buy.
A gun store owner in Toronto credited Trudeau for sparking the gun-buy frenzy.
He “created a panic, and people are now rushing out to buy handguns,” said DoubleTap Sports’ Josko Kovic.
“Almost all stores are sold out, including me,” Kovic added.
“Sales have been brisk,” admitted Ottawa-based That Hunting Store co-owner Jen Lavigne.
“We sold 100 handguns, or almost our entire stock, in the last three days, since the prime minister announced the freeze,” she said.
The gun store owner told AFP the new restrictions on firearms would likely do nothing to combat the purported rise in gun crime, as criminals don’t follow laws, and would only harm law-abiding gun owners.
“This measure is only going to hurt legal gun owners,” Lavigne said, adding: “It’s not going to reduce any of the crime because the bad guys don’t follow the rules.”
Another gun store owner worried the new gun laws could break the gun industry further down the road.
“This handgun measure is going to take away livelihoods and break up communities,” said Candian Gun Guys owner Darryl Tomlinson.
“It’s a Catch-22. We’re busy now, but I fear we’re going to be put out of business in the fall.”
Trudeau’s gun control proposals come as US legislators are also eager to pass similar policies following a spate of mass shootings last month, with Democrats like Sen. Chris Murphy (Conn.) telling CNN’s State of the Union Sunday he’s “more confident than ever” Republicans will come to the table to negotiate this time around.
Trudeau’s newfound embrace of gun control is a radical departure from his previous stance merely 12 years ago, when he backed Canadian’s gun rights saying the country had “a culture that has grown up with guns.”
Reporting from Newswars.
