Gun stores across Canada are reporting booming business, after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that he was introducing a freeze on all new sales of handguns.
Trudeau on May 30 said he was introducing ‘a national freeze on handgun ownership.’
He added: ‘In other words, it will no longer be possible to buy, sell, transfer, or import handguns anywhere in Canada once this Bill becomes law.’
The bill, C-21, needs to be passed by the House of Commons and the Senate, and is expected to become law by fall.
Owners of gun stores are reporting a surge in sales, as customers who have obtained their licenses rush to buy guns before the law is enacted.
‘We thought there would be a bit of a run on handguns but we didn’t expect this,’ said J.R. Cox, who owns and operates The Shooting Edge ranges in Calgary and Toronto.
‘All the stores in Calgary were just crazy,’ he told Global News.
Several gun stores in British Columbia province saw lines out the door within hours of Trudeau’s announcement.
‘You get a lot of people that as soon as they announce new gun control measures, everyone wants to go in and buy a gun,’ said Dan Shemley, warehouse manager of Great North Precision Canada, which sells firearms in Kelowna, B.C.
…Other shops across Canada said they sold out within days….
‘We sold 100 handguns, or almost our entire stock, in the last three days, since the prime minister announced the freeze,’ she said, showing off her nearly empty handgun cabinet.
'All the stores were crazy': Justin Trudeau's gun crackdown sparks handgun panic-buying ahead of the freeze on sales:t.co/yyfcqRnxCN
— Bob Beddingfield (@bobbeddingfield) June 7, 2022
h/t BFD