The Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, presented this Monday a bill to freeze the purchase and sale of new firearms in the country, after the shooting last week at a school in Texas (USA) that left 19 children and two teachers dead.
“In other words, we are limiting the firearms market,” the prime minister announced during an event to present the measure with members of his government.
If Parliament approves the bill, the purchase, sale and import of weapons throughout Canada will be prohibited.
In addition, weapons licenses will be withdrawn from those who commit sexist violence or harassment, and criminal sanctions against arms trafficking will be increased, which will go from maximum sentences of 10 to 14 years in prison.
It will also prohibit long gun magazines from carrying more than five bullets.
Although the measure does not imply a total ban on the possession of weapons in Canada, it does seek to significantly limit the presence of weapons in the country by freezing their purchase.
Two years ago, the Trudeau government banned nearly 1,500 models of assault weapons, including the AR-15, a rifle used by Salvador Ramos, the attacker at the Uvalde school in Texas.
Canadian authorities announced Monday that the government will buy the assault weapons that remain in private hands.
According to data from the Government of Canada, in 2020 there were 1.1 million firearms in the country, an increase of 71% compared to 2010.
Last Tuesday, Salvador Ramos, an 18-year-old boy, broke into the Robb elementary school in Uvalde (Texas) with an AR-15 rifle with which he killed 19 children and two teachers, being the deadliest shooting in a school in United States since Sandy Hook in 2012.
The massacre has reopened the perennial gun debate in the United States, where Democrats are pushing to pass background checks for gun buyers, something Republicans are opposed to, who believe mass shootings should be addressed as a security issue. mental health.
After the shooting, Trudeau declared that he was “heartbroken” and announced that he would introduce measures to limit guns in Canada.
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