Among the count of losses to the corona virus, we can add the 22 people who were murdered by a shooter in Nova Scotia last week. While the virus didn’t kill them directly, it took Canada’s attention away from the ban on assault weapons that Justin Trudeau had promised. The worst mass shooting in Canada’s history (April 18 and 19, 2020), accomplished with a military style assault weapon (among others), brought that attention back.
Today, Trudeau took a moment away from the fight against the virus to fulfill this campaign promise:
“These weapons were designed for one purpose and one purpose only: to kill the largest number of people in the shortest amount of time. There is no use and no place for such weapons in Canada,” said the prime minister. “Effective immediately, it is no longer permitted to buy, sell, transport, import or use military-grade assault weapons in this country.”…
The new ban would probably not have stopped Wortman from obtaining his weapons: he did not have a license to possess or purchase firearms, and police have said they believe the guns were obtained illegally in Canada and the United States…
Canada has one of the highest per capita gun ownership rates in the world, at an estimated 34.7 firearms per 100 people, according to the Small Arms Survey in 2018. The country still trails far behind the US, which has close to 120 guns per 100 people.
Canada has its share of gun fanatics but their number is small compared to the United States. After Trudeau announced the bans on Friday, May 1, 2020, the response from their Conservatives was so predictable that it might as well have been read from a script. One example was Conservative Party leader, Andrew Scheer: “taking firearms away from law-abiding citizens does nothing to stop dangerous criminals who obtain their guns illegally.”
While Canada’s Conservatives sound like their American counterparts, the typical Canadian does not.
An “overwhelming majority” majority of Canadians – nearly four out of five people – support the ban, according to a poll from the Angus Reid Institute, released Friday.
From today’s edition of The Guardian, IMNSHO the best source of news on our plant today:
Trudeau announces Canada is banning assault-style weapons