A freeze on handgun purchase and sale took effect in Canada Friday, measures designed to keep Canadians safe by tackling gun violence.

“Canadians have the right to feel safe in their homes, their schools and in their places of worship," Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a statement, Friday. “With handgun violence increasing across Canada, it is our duty to take urgent action to remove these deadly weapons from our communities.”

The handgun ban, combined with Bill C-21, which will clearly define and ban specific assault-style weapons and includes more comprehensive background checks, represents the strongest gun control measures in 40 years, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said in a statement. Bill C-21 is currently being studied by Parliament but is almost sure to pass into law since Trudeau's minority Liberal Party has the support of the New Democrat Party.

“The national handgun freeze is part of the government’s comprehensive plan to tackle gun violence,” the PMO statement said. “We have already banned over 1,500 types of assault-style firearms and have strengthened our gun control laws to expand background checks.

“Bill C-21 proposes further measures to keep guns out of the wrong hands like revoking the firearms licenses of those involved in acts of domestic violence or criminal harassment, continuing to fight gun smuggling and trafficking, and providing law enforcement more tools to investigate firearms crimes."

Quick Facts on Canadian guns:

- Handguns were used in 59% of the violent crimes involving firearms between 2009-2020;

- Handguns have increased dramatically. There are 70% more handguns in Canada now than in 2010;

- More than 3,500 firearm thefts were reported in 2018;

- One-in-three women and girls killed by abusers were murdered with a gun;

- Six Muslim worshippers at a Quebec City mosque were gunned down by an individual using a handgun in 2017, and 19 were wounded. It remains the worst number of killings in a religious setting in Canadian history.

- In the worst mass shooting in Canada, 22 people were killed by a gunman in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia during a horrific 13-hour shooting spree, April 18-19, 2020.

(Anadolu Agency)

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