Canadian Politics: Martin says if he is re-elected they will ban hand guns.

ca.... today.reuters.com

TORONTO (Reuters) - Liberals, under pressure to clamp down on gun violence in big cities, will move to impose a total ban on all handguns if they win the January 23 election, Prime Minister Paul Martin said on Thursday.

Canada already has extremely restrictive firearms legislation, but under the Liberal proposal only police and some security officers would be allowed to carry handguns.

So far this year some 50 young men -- most of them black -- have been shot dead in Toronto. Some government officials have blamed the problem in part on smuggling of handguns from neighboring United States.

"I've come to the conclusion that significant change is needed. I've come to the conclusion that we should ban handguns," Martin told a rally in one of the most violent areas of Toronto.

Apart from law and order officers, only target shooters and collectors are currently allowed to own handguns. Martin said there would be a narrow exemption for target shooters but gave no further details.

Martin said Canada would increase the number of police on the borders to try to cut down on smuggling and would bring in stiffer penalties for people who used guns during crimes.

The question of gun control is a tricky one for the Liberals, whose attempt to compile a register of rifles and shotguns in the mid-1990s spiraled out of control. The registry, which was originally designed to break even, has so far cost more than C$2 billion.



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