Handgun ban not on city’s agenda: mayor

Other mayors may be keen to embrace the idea of a municipal handgun ban, but it's not something that so far excited Kelowna Mayor Colin Basran.

Leaders in Vancouver and Surrey said this week that they will ask their councils to implement such a ban, using powers proposed under new federal legislation.

But Basran was much more circumspect when asked Wednesday for his views on the matter.

“I don’t have much to say on the topic as it’s not something council has or is considering,” Basran said.

“But I will say that I am concerned about the federal government downloading something like this to individual municipalities to manage,” Basran added.

Basran offered much the same comment in September 2019 when first asked about what was then a Liberal government proposal to ban handguns.

Now, the Liberal government has presented legislation that would allow municipalities to ban the weapons through bylaws restricting their possession, storage and transportation.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday the measures will be backed up with serious penalties to enforce these bylaws, including jail time for people who violate municipal rules.

Vancouver Mayor Kennedy Stewart says the proliferation of handguns poses a great threat to public safety, citing a recent uptick in gang-related shootings and weapons recovered by police.

“At the earliest opportunity, I will be bringing forward a motion directing staff to prepare a handgun ban bylaw and bring it forward for a vote once this federal legislation is passed,” Stewart said in a City of Vancouver news release.

Mayor Doug McCallum of Surrey says gun violence has been a scourge in the region and he is directing staff to immediately begin work on a bylaw for council approval as quickly as possible.

McCallum says in a statement he wholeheartedly supports a handgun ban in his city after a recent surge in shootings and deaths.