Ontario’s Liberal Leader Promises To Ban Handguns If Elected In June

Ontario’s Liberal leader is vowing to get tougher on guns if he is elected as premier in June.

Steven Del Duca announced he would ban handguns in the province in his first year in office. The promise from the Liberal leader would include a ban of the sale, possession, transportation and storage of handguns.

“We will make sure that this story after story of people who have lost lives and lost loved ones comes to an end,” said Del Duca.

As part of the plan the Ontario Liberal government says, if elected, they would accept the federal government’s offer to fund a buy-back program and partner with them to prevent gun smuggling at Ontario’s international border crossings with the U.S.

The Liberals also promise to advocate for a national ban so guns can’t get into Ontario through provincial borders.

In a statement to CityNews, the Ford government said most gun violence in the province would not be prevented by Del Duca’s pledge. The Solicitor General’s office said 80 per cent of gun crime in the province is committed by illegal guns and half of the deaths from gun violence are gang-related.

“Go and talk to the families of the two individuals who were murdered in Toronto a couple of weeks ago and cite statistics to them,” said Del Duca. “One death by virtue of a legal handgun is one death too many.”

The Liberals are accusing the Ford government of putting the interests of gun lobbyists ahead of victims of gun violence.

“The Ford Conservatives are 100 per cent aligned with the gun lobby, aggressively opposing all efforts by municipal councils and the federal government to take guns off Ontario streets,” said Del Duca.

Deputy Premier Christine Elliott said the claims from Del Duca are untrue and there is “no kowtowing to any gun lobby” from the provincial government.

Ontario’s upcoming provincial election will be held on June 2.