Canada Has Banned Military-Style Assault Weapons 12 Days After The Worst Mass Shooting In Its History

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has introduced a ban on military-style assault weapons 12 days after the worst mass shooting in the country’s history that left 22 people dead.

“These weapons were designed for one purpose and one purpose only – to kill the largest number of people in the shortest amount of time,” Trudeau said on Friday. “There is no use or place for such weapons in Canada.”

The announcement comes 12 days after a gunman impersonating a police office killed 22 people in Nova Scotia in a 13-hour overnight rampage.

The gunman, identified as 51-year-old denture fitter Gabriel Wortman, drove an unregistered replica police car through the province, committing shootings and setting fires at 16 different locations.

He killed 22 people and injured three others before he was shot and killed by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) in Enfield, about 57 miles (92 km) from where he set out.

The victims included an elementary school teacher, a police officer and at least three married couples, the Guardian reported.

The killings deeply shook Canada, which has a relatively low level of gun violence.

The ban, which took effect immediately, made it illegal to buy, sell, transport, import or use military-grade assault weapons.

Trudeau said there will be a two-year amnesty for gun shops to return any weapons they have to manufacturers and law-abiding gun owners to keep their rifles, although they can no longer use, trade or sell them except to buyers outside of Canada with a permit.

He said legislation for a buy-back program will be introduced at a later date. With the ban, Trudeau partly fulfills a gun control promise he made during last year’s federal elections, the New York Times reported.

He said the government had been in the process of introducing an assault weapons ban when its agenda was overturned by the coronavirus pandemic.