Canada has introduced a law to “freeze” domestic sales of firearms. And the package of initiatives also regulates the capacity of stores of sold samples.
In addition, the changes may also affect sales of dummy firearms.
Canada has presented the law on “freezing” in the field of trade in firearms. For last year the government discussed some of the currently proposed measures. But then the discussion of this issue was postponed until an uncertain future, which came after two mass murders in the United States.
And the shooting at Robb Elementary School in Yuvalde caused a particular stir. In the aftermath of such a deferred issue, the issue rose on its own. Moreover, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau motivated a return to the topic of restrictions precisely against the backdrop of an increased number of incidents involving firearms. While Trudeau did not refer specifically to the Yuvalde or Buffalo examples, it is clear which tragedies influenced the decision.
But in euphemisms, the prime minister pointed to the country that provoked the gun trafficking debate. As Trudeau said, “We need only look south of the border to understand the truth. If we don’t act decisively and quickly, the situation gets worse and worse – and it gets harder and harder to confront.” A glance at the map makes it clear that we are talking about the United States.
To be more specific, the essence of the initiatives is broader than a sales freeze. For the package of proposed laws revises the regulation of the firearms market. What’s more, guns will still be available for purchase. For example, sport shooters will not encounter any problems in acquiring one. Only such exceptions are isolated. But it is worth talking in detail about other important points.First, it is proposed to reduce the capacity of magazines for long guns to five rounds.
Such an initiative is a response to the fact that the most frequent weapons of criminals in mass murders are automatic rifles with a large magazine capacity. Whereas attempts to sell larger-capacity magazines would be punishable by criminal prosecution.Secondly, it would limit the categories of people who would be allowed to obtain a license to carry weapons. People who were under a restraining order or prosecution would be barred from purchasing and possessing firearms. Moreover, if they already hold a license, they will be deprived of that right.
Third, overly plausible duds or pneumatic replicas of firearms will fall under the ban. The fact is that there have been a number of incidents in North America where the visual resemblance to real firearms has caused problems. As an example, last week Toronto police shot and killed a man after mistaking his air gun for a live firearm.
Especially the president of the Canadian Police Association, Tom Stamatakis, supports the muzzleloader clause. He believes, “You can’t tell the difference between what is a fake firearm and what is a real firearm. Especially when these incidents involving dummy firearms often occur in very dynamic, rapidly changing circumstances.”