Prime Minister-sponsored bill also prevents the transfer of firearms across the nation.
QUICK FACTS:
- Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau introduced legislation to put major restrictions on handguns in his country.
- Trudeau presented the bill Monday afternoon along with Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino, according to Breitbart News.
- “It will no longer be possible to buy, sell, transfer or import handguns anywhere in Canada. In other words, we’re capping the market for handguns,” Prime Minister Trudeau said. “As we see gun violence continue to rise, it is our duty to keep taking action.”
- The legislation also addresses other firearms, making it necessary to alter all rifle magazines so they cannot hold more than five rounds. It would also be illegal to sell or transfer larger-capacity magazines.
TRUDEAU’S CLAIMS ABOUT CANADIAN GUN OWNERSHIP:
- Trudeau said that while most Canadian gun owners are responsible, it’s his administration’s position that there is no need for gun ownership other than hunting and sport shooting.
- “[O]ther than using firearms for sport shooting and for hunting, there is no reason anyone in Canada should need guns in their everyday lives,” the prime minister said.
- The bill introduced by the prime minister will fight back against “illegal gun smuggling” by implementing a “red flag,” allowing law enforcement to force gun owners to give up their guns if they are considered a danger to themselves or others.
- “The bill we just tabled represents a milestone amidst a long and difficult battle which takes place on our streets every single day,” Mendicino said at the news conference. “It’s a battle which has claimed too many lives, leaving empty chairs at the dinner table, and empty desks in our classrooms.”
BACKGROUND:
- This is the second attempt by Trudeau’s administration to make massive gun restrictions, previously banning 1,500 different firearms in 2020, which included rifles described as “assault rifles” by former Public Safety Minister Bill Blair.
- “These weapons were designed for one purpose and one purpose only: to kill the largest number of people in the shortest amount of time,” Trudeau said in 2020. “There is no use and no place for such weapons in Canada.”
