Guns and People

Listen to Today's Edition:

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau imposed an immediate nationwide freeze on the sale of handguns in Canada over the weekend, the latest move by the government to address recent shootings that have rocked the North American country, NPR reported.

The government order would ban handgun sales and prohibit the introduction of newly acquired firearms into Canada.

Trudeau said the freeze is an “immediate action” his government is taking as lawmakers consider gun-control measures in parliament.

Since May, Canadian legislators have been debating the passage of a handgun freeze bill that would impose the strictest gun control measures in decades. Trudeau had initially announced the draft legislation following two shootings in the neighboring US, including the Uvalde school massacre in Texas.

While firearms-related deaths are lower in Canada, the country experienced one of its deadliest mass shootings in 2020, which saw the killing of 22 people in the province of Nova Scotia. That event led to the ban of assault-style firearms and renewed discussions around gun control and access to illegal weapons, according to USA Today.

Gun control groups welcomed Trudeau’s recent decision but the Canadian Coalition for Firearm Rights countered that placing stricter legislation on weapons does not decrease gun violence.