Prominent firearm-control advocates are urging the Liberal government to abandon plans to allow provinces to ban handguns, saying regional measures will lead to a disastrous patchwork across Canada.
In a new letter to Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino, several high-profile groups call instead for countrywide measures to phase out the private ownership of handguns.
The groups say offloading the responsibility to ban handguns to provinces would be a disaster _ politically, legally, and most importantly, in terms of public safety.
The plea follows a pledge this week by Ontario Liberal Leader Steven Del Duca to ban handguns across the province should he become premier following the election slated for June.
The April 20th letter was signed by representatives of organizations including the Coalition for Gun Control, PolySeSouvient, the National Association of Women and the Law, Danforth Families for Safe Communities, the Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians, and the Quebec City mosque where six people were killed.
Overall, the signatories call for legislation that will move measures to a point where it will be extremely difficult, if not politically impossible, to turn back in the opposite direction.
Mendicino's office had no immediate comment on the letter.