The problem with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s handgun freeze is that it won’t freeze guns smuggled illegally into Canada from the U.S. which account for 85% of all handguns used for criminal purposes.
The Trudeau government knows this — it said as much in a 2018 discussion paper on gun violence, by the public safety ministry.
It said:
“The vast majority of owners of handguns and of other firearms in Canada lawfully abide by requirements, and most gun crimes are not committed with legally-owned firearms.”
The problem with freezing handgun sales, a national handgun ban, or allowing cities to ban handguns — all ideas the Trudeau government has floated since being elected in 2015 — is that they reduce focus on illegal handguns.
Trudeau’s handgun freeze won’t freeze guns smuggled into Canada from the U.S. which account for 85% of guns used for criminal purposes.
torontosun.com
“Many participants felt strongly that a ban would target law-abiding owners, rather than illicit firearms, and would not greatly impact crime reduction (particularly gang violence). As a result, many called for enhanced enforcement capacity for law enforcement and border services, as well as harsher punishments for firearms trafficking and gun-related crime” from a federal government report on public reaction to its 2018 discussion paper.
“A handgun ban in Toronto will do nothing to abate gun crime. A city ban would have to be a bylaw, and criminals are totally ignoring criminal law, so a bylaw ticket likely won’t scare them! And the ‘law abiding’ handgun owners are just that, and not a threat” from Chris Lewis, former commissioner of the Ontario Provincial Police.
Meanwhile, the Trudeau government is eliminating mandatory minimum sentences on a wide range of gun crimes including:
Using a firearm or imitation firearm in the commission of an offence; knowingly possessing an unauthorized firearm; possession of a prohibited or restricted firearm with ammunition; possession of a weapon obtained by commission of an offence; extortion with a firearm; discharging a firearm with intent; discharging a firearm — recklessness; robbery with a firearm; and extortion with a firearm.
That legislation, has received third reading in the House of Commons and is now being debated in the Senate.
Toronto, ON & Montreal, QC Liberal MP's gathered today in Toronto, surrounded by gun ban advocates, to announce the implementation of the handgun "freeze" that was announced last May. In an 8:30am press conference, and on Twitter, they advised Canadians that the freeze took effect some 8+ hours...
firearmrights.ca
