Just a few days after the tragic Texas school shooting took the entire world by storm, Canada has decided to tighten its gun laws to prevent any such incidents in the country. The authorities are planning to impose a ban on the sale of handguns in the country.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced that a proposed freeze on handgun ownership in Canada would effectively ban their importation and sale, in wake of the multiple mass shootings in the United States. To implement the ban on handgun sales in Canada, the bill must still be passed by Parliament, with the ruling Liberals holding only a minority of seats. While speaking to the victims and families affected by gun violence, Trudeau said that the implementation of this rule is currently underway.
“We’re introducing legislation to implement a national freeze on handgun ownership,” he said, as per AFP reports. The Canadian PM further added, “What this means is that it will no longer be possible to buy, sell, transfer, or import handguns anywhere in Canada. In other words, we are capping the market for handguns.”
The Canadian government had previously banned 1,500 types of military-grade or assault-style firearms, just days after the worst mass shooting incident in the country left 23 people dead in rural Nova Scotia, in April 2020.
Though several weapons have been banned in Canada, Trudeau said that the incidents of gun violence continue to rise in the country. According to AFP, the government statistical agency reported last week that firearms-related violent crimes account for less than three percent of all violent crimes in Canada.
These precautionary measures are being taken in Canada in wake of the deadly Texas school shooting that took place in the Robb elementary school in the US state earlier this month, leaving as many as 22 people dead, including the shooter.
