Toronto City Council seeks ban of handgun sales

Toronto City Council is seeking federal authority to ban the sale of handguns and their ammunition. 

The Toronto Sun reported that the Council will also request that the Canadian government outlaw handguns, assault rifles and semi-automatic weapons across the country except for police, military and security uses. 

The motion was approved by a 41-4 vote, according to the Sun. 

“People in the City of Toronto don’t need handguns,” Mayor John Tory told the Sun. His comments came after a daylong discussion regarding the best way to respond to gun violence.

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The vote and discussion come only days after a gunman opened fire on a busy Toronto street, killing two people and injuring a dozen others. Canadian authorities on Monday identified the suspect as Faisal Hussain.

In a speech following the attack, Tory said that gun violence is an “international” and “domestic” problem.

“This is an international problem and this is a domestic problem. There are far too many people carrying around guns in our city and our region who should not have them,” Tory said after the shooting. 

In addition to motions on handguns, Tory also reportedly introduced a motion to ask the federal government to make the penalties for gun trafficking stricter. That motion was also backed by the council. 

The motions were delivered during a wide-ranging discussion about gun violence in the city. Among other things, the council talked about whether it was possible to outlaw guns in the city and if it could increase the use of surveillance cameras.