Canada handgun ban: Canada proposes ban on handgun sales in wake of Texas school shooting

The Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau announced on May 30, 2022, a proposed freeze on handgun ownership in Canada following the recent mass shootings in the United States. The move by the Canadian Government will effectively ban the import and sale of handguns in Canada. However, the bill announcing a ban on handguns in Canada must be passed by the Parliament as the ruling Liberals hold only a minority of seats. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that the government is introducing legislation to implement a national freeze on handgun ownership. He was also joined by dozens of families and friends of victims of gun violence.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a proposed freeze on handgun ownership in Canada that would effectively ban their importation and sale, following recent mass shootings in the United States, reports AFP news agency pic.twitter.com/NjMRSTFVfJ

— ANI (@ANI) May 30, 2022

Canada proposes ban on handgun: What does it mean?

If the Canadian Parliament passes the legislation to ban handgun sales, it will mean that it will no longer be possible to buy, sell, transfer or import handguns anywhere in Canada. In other words, the government will be capping the market for handguns.

The proposed law of banning handgun in Canada will also strip anyone involved in domestic violence or stalking of their firearms license and take away guns from those deemed to be a risk to themselves or others.

Why Canada is proposing a ban on handguns?

As per the Prime Minister of Canada, people should be free to go to the supermarket, their place of worship, or their school without any fear. People should be free to go to a park or to a birthday party without worrying about what might happen from a stray bullet.

He added gun violence is a complex problem, however, at the end of the day, the math is really quite simple: the fewer the guns in our communities, the safer everyone will be.

The proposal of banning handguns in Canada is followed by the recent Texas school shooting in the US which took lives of 22. The shooting took place at Robb Elementary School.

Canada gun laws: What country has done to control the gun problem?

Days after the worst mass shooting in Canada that left 23 dead in rural Nova Scotia in April 2020, the Canadian government banned 1,500 types of military-grade or assault-style firearms.

However, the government has acknowledged that gun violence in Canada has continued to rise. The statistical agency of the Canadian Government has reported that firearms-related violence crimes account for less than 3 per cent of all the violent crimes in Canada.

But since the year 2009, the per capita rate of guns being pointed at someone has nearly tripled, while the rate at which a gun was fired with an intent to kill or wound is up five-fold.

It has been estimated that there are about one million handguns in Canada which are significantly higher than a decade ago.