Canadian Student Associations Applaud Ban on Assault Weapons: Finally!

MONTREAL and TORONTO, May 2, 2020 /CNW Telbec/ - Following the government's announcement regarding the banning by orders-in-council of the tens of thousands of assault weapons that are circulating in the country, as well as the upcoming tabling of a broader gun control bill, the NOT_HERE student movement wishes to express its enthusiasm for the news and vigorously applaud Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Public Safety Minister Bill Blair for this action.

Wendy Vasquez, President of the Canadian Federation of Engineering Students says: "Finally! Thirty years after the December 6, 1989 femicide in Montreal, the Ruger Mini-14 will be banned once and for all! It is not only the weapon used at Polytechnique that will be banned but all assault weapons, including those used at Dawson College in 2006, during the PQ attack in 2012, in Moncton in 2014, at the Quebec Mosque in 2017.”

Jonathan Landry, President of Polytechnique’s Student Association: "We, the students of the 21st century, are the first generation to have grown up in the era of school mass shootings. The extreme violence caused by guns affects us directly. This threat will not go away without strengthening our laws, and recent events, including the massacre in Nova Scotia, confirm the importance of our demands. We applaud Mr. Trudeau's government: Bravo for standing up to the gun lobby!”

In Canada, the number of bullets in a magazine can easily exceed the legal limit of five or ten bullets, simply by removing the pin that blocks the number of bullets, allowing the magazine to reach its original factory limit or 20, 30, 50 and even 100 bullets. This process was used by the Quebec Mosque shooter.

Alice Perié from the Quebec Confederation of Engineering Student Outreach adds: "We expressed our concern about the availability of modifiable magazines last fall pointing out that their capacity remains a crucial component of the destructive power of a firearm during a shooting. Magazines should have a maximum capacity of five bullets without any possible alteration. We hope that this will be part of future amendments to the law.”

The Canada-wide student movement PAS_ICI / NOT_HERE represents over 250,000 students across the country. It was born out of a desire by student organizations to speak out against the significant gaps in our firearm laws.

SOURCE Pas ici / Not Here

Jonathan Landry-Leclerc, 450 675 3399, [email protected]; Alice Perié, 514 991 1703, [email protected]; Wendy Vasquez, 819 342 0434, [email protected]