OTTAWA — Canada said on Monday that it is introducing some of the toughest gun-control measures in decades, including a ban on the purchase, sale and transfer of handguns, in response to concerns about violent crime.
Canada will compel owners of banned semiautomatic firearms to sell their weapons to the government, starting at the end of this year. The proposed bill, introduced in Canada’s Parliament, would allow courts to order gun owners to surrender their weapons should a judge believe they pose a danger to themselves or others, and allow authorities to take away firearms licenses for those involved in acts of domestic violence and stalking.
The suite of new restrictions comes less than a week after 19 students and two teachers were killed at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, in the second deadliest U.S. school shooting. The new proposed gun-control legislation is likely to pass through Parliament, as Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has a formal deal with a smaller left-wing party to support government legislation and prop up the minority Liberal administration until mid-2025.
In Washington, D.C., leaders of the Democratic and Republican parties have expressed support for talks over new gun policies but any proposed measures would face tough odds given the stark divide between the two parties over gun control.
“Other than using firearms for sport shooting and hunting, there is no reason anyone in Canada should need guns in their everyday lives,” Trudeau said at the press conference in the Canadian capital. “We cannot let the gun debate become so polarized that nothing gets done. We cannot let that happen in our country.”
An expanded version of this report appears on WSJ.com.
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