A new piece of legislation that will like pass the Canadian Parliament calls for most owners of “military-style assault weapons” to turn them over in a mandatory buyback program that would rid the country of the vast majority of such weapons in private hands, the New York Times reports.
Following two mass murders in the United States in two weeks in which both shooters used assault-style weapons, Canada will expand its strong gun control policies that already require strict regulation and licensing of weapons. The same bill would immediately ban the sale, purchase, importation or transfer of handguns.
“As a government, as a society, we have a responsibility to act to prevent more tragedies,” Mr. Trudeau told reporters on Monday.