Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a freeze on handgun sales and purchases Monday, suggesting high-profile shootings in the U.S. were part of the justification for the ban.

Reuters reports that Trudeau said, “We need only look south of the border to know that if we do not take action firmly and rapidly it gets worse and worse and gets more difficult to counter.”

The ban not only freezes handgun sales and purchases but also impacts magazine capacity and prohibits some toy guns.

CNN quoted Trudeau saying, “What this means is that it will no longer be possible to buy, sell, transfer or import handguns anywhere in Canada.”

The Associated Press

Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announces new gun control legislation in Ottawa, Ontario, on Monday, May 30, 2022. (Patrick Doyle/The Canadian Press via AP)

He added, “In other words, we’re capping the market.”

Trudeau opined, “Gun violence is a complex problem, but at the end of the day the math is really quite simple: The fewer the guns in our communities, the safer everyone will be.”

Breitbart News reported that Chicago had a handgun ban from 1982 til 2010. During that time, homicide numbers skyrocketed as only criminals had guns.

For example, the Chicago Police Department reported there were 850 homicides in 1993. That is nearly 100 more homicides in 1993 than CNN’s figure of 762 homicides in 2016. Moreover, the Chicago Police Department shows there were 930 homicides in 1994; 921 homicides in 1991; and a startling 940 homicides in 1992.

AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkinsa weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio and a Turning Point USA Ambassador. Follow him on Instagram: @awr_hawkins. Reach him at awrhawkins@breitbart.com. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange.