Gun store owner Jen Lavigne shows a customer a Ruger GP100 Magnum 357. Photo: Dave Chan/AFP via Getty Images
Canada's new nationwide handgun sales ban went into effect Friday.
Why it matters: The ban is Canada's latest move to reduce gun violence and slow the number of handguns in circulation.
Details: The ban will bar anyone from buying, selling or transferring handguns within Canada, and it will stop people from bringing new handguns into the country, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in an announcement.
What he said: “Canadians have the right to feel safe in their homes, in their schools, and in their places of worship," Trudeau said in a statement.
- "With handgun violence increasing across Canada, it is our duty to take urgent action to remove these deadly weapons from our communities."
Flashback: Trudeau first announced the new handgun sales policy in May following the Uvalde school shooting and the Buffalo supermarket shooting in the United States, Axios reports.
- "Other than using firearms for sport shooting and hunting, there is no reason anyone in Canada should need guns in their everyday lives," he said at the time.
- In 2020, Trudeau previously introduced rules to ban the AR-15 and other semi-automatic rifles.
Worth noting: Canada has stricter gun laws than the U.S. The country does not have a constitutional right to bear arms, either.
Go deeper: Canada poised to pass sweeping gun restrictions in wake of Uvalde and Buffalo