Justin Trudeau Makes It “Illegal to buy, sell, transfer or import handguns anywhere in Canada”

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is moving to enact sweeping gun control legislation that will make selling or importing handguns illegal north of the border.

“We are capping the number of handguns in this country,” Trudeau said. “It will be illegal to buy, sell, transfer or import handguns anywhere in Canada.”

The new bill is expected to pass this fall.

American citizens are guaranteed the right to bear arms under the 2nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. But Canadian citizens have no such right.

“In Canada, gun ownership is a privilege not a right,” said Bill Blair, Canadian minister of emergency preparedness. “This is a principal that differentiates ourselves from many other countries in the world, notably our colleagues and friends to the south. In Canada, guns are only intended to be used for hunting and sport purposes.”

Blair said guns are often smuggled in illegally from the U.S., which he noted has one of the largest small-arms arsenals in the world.

The prime minister said increased funding has already helped border officials double the number of smuggled guns confiscated at the U.S. border.

Canada has already expanded background checks, and it plans to ban 1,500 types of military-style firearms and offer a mandatory buyback program that will begin at the end of the year.

Trudeau’s long-held plans to enact tougher gun have been expedited after mass shootings in Uvalde, Texas, and Buffalo, N.Y., this month.

The new Canadian bill also provides measures to allow for the removal of gun licenses from people involved in acts of domestic violence or criminal harassment, and will create a new “red flag” law allowing courts to require that people considered a danger to themselves or others surrender their firearms to police.

Furthermore, rifle magazines will be permanently altered so they can never hold more than five rounds. Canada will also ban the sale and transfer of large-capacity magazines under the Criminal Code.

“Canada can teach us a lot,” tweeted Bruce Heyman, a former U.S. ambassador to Canada under the Obama administration.

“This is a concrete and real national measure to long way toward keeping Canadians safe,” Trudeau said.