Trudeau proposes freeze on handgun sales
Canada has seen rise in homicides, registered guns
Canadian Prime Minster Justin Trudeau said in a news conference Monday that he’s introducing a “national freeze” on handgun sales in his country to curb the increase in homicides.
Trudeau’s announcement comes a week after 19 children were killed in a school shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas.
Trudeau’s decision didn’t come without pushback from government ministers, and the legislation couldn’t become finalized until the fall. The proposed ban would apply to the buying, selling, transferring and importing of handguns in Canada.
“We cannot let the guns debate become so polarized that nothing gets done. We cannot let that happen in our country,” Trudeau said in Ottawa. “People should be free to go to the supermarket, their school or their place of worship without fear. People should be free to go to the park or to a birthday party without worrying about what might happen from a stray bullet.”
Canada had a reported 743 homicides in 2020 – the highest number since 1991. Canada had initiated a 2020 law banning assault-style firearms and a buyback program to those who possessed the weapons.
The number of registered handguns in Canada increased by 71% from 2010 to 2020, according to Trudeau’s office.
In the U.S., a bipartisan group of senators began informal talks last week to address gun-related deaths after mass shootings in Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde. President Joe Biden has pushed for gun control since the Uvalde shootings, saying, “there’s only one reason for something that can fire 100 shots.”