Last Updated on April 30, 2020
As the minds and lives of citizens are occupied with the coronavirus pandemic and ensuing lockdown, the Canadian government is preparing to ban AR-15s and other rifles it deems to be “assault-style” weapons.
In reality, there is no such classification as an “assault-style” weapon, the term is wholly political and vague in nature, and does not exist in the firearm manufacturing industry.
That hasn’t stopped Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau from spearheading the Liberal Party of Canada’s push to ban entire classes and makes of firearms amidst the COVID-19 crisis.
Canadian law does not require new legislation for firearm bans.
When asked Thursday if he opposed introducing gun control measures during the present lockdown, Trudeau said, “We are certainly looking at reintroducing, uh introducing, our new gun control measures that were ready to go before Parliament was suspended because of COVID-19.”
Trudeau noted that current law prevents the Canadian Parliament from introducing new legislation unrelated to COVID-19 during the pandemic, but added that he would be looking to see if there was an “appetite” from other parties to “move forward more quickly, given the measures in place.”
CTV News reported that the ban, which could be announced as early as Friday of this week, will include a long list of firearms used in mass shooting going back over a period of thirty years or more:
The ban includes guns that have been used in past Canadian shootings, including:
- the Ruger Mini-14 which was used in the Ecole Polytechnique massacre in Montreal in 1989;
- the M14 semi-automatic which was used in the 2014 Moncton shooting;
- the Beretta CX4 Storm which was used in the Dawson College shooting; and
- the CSA-VZ-58 which was used in the Quebec Mosque shooting.
As well, the firearms used in the Las Vegas, Orlando and Sandy Hook mass shootings will be on the list of guns that will be banned in Canada, sources said.
Canada already has some of the strictest anti-gun laws in the North American region, prohibiting the open or concealed carry of handguns for average citizens and making the process of obtaining a handgun exceedingly difficult.
