Canada wants to ban the sale of all firearms

The proposal, presented by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, came less than a week after the massacre at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, where 19 children and 2 adults were killed by 18-year-old Salvador Ramos. In Canada, the possession of weapons is not mentioned in the Constitution as in the United States, but it is still very widespread, especially in the rural areas of the country, and for years the government has been trying to limit it and regulate it more even though the rules are already stricter than in those of the United States.

The 2020 Assault Rifle Act was introduced after 22 people were killed in Nova Scotia by a man disguised as a police officer between 18 and 19 April 2020 – the worst killing in the country’s history. Other massacres occurred in 2018, in Toronto, when a man killed 10 people by running over them, and in 2017, in a Quebec City mosque, when 6 people were killed.

“There are no reasons why someone in Canada needs weapons for reasons other than sport and hunting,” Trudeau told reporters presenting the new bill: “Seeing the increase in violence related to the use of weapons, we have to intervene “. Between 2010 and 2020, the number of handguns regularly owned in Canada increased by 71 percent, according to official data: today they are nearly 1.1 million-plus around 10 million rifles, according to a report updated to 2018. of the independent research center Small Arms Survey.

The new bill also provides for rifle magazines to be modified so that no more than five rounds can be fired one after the other. In addition, if approved, it will prohibit the possession of weapons for people involved in domestic violence and stalking cases. Finally, it provides for the state to buy assault rifles from the current owners, the sale of which was banned in 2020.