Canada has just banned all military style assault weapons from the country after a 51-year old gunman went on a shooting rampage, killing 22 people. It was the country’s deadliest mass shooting.
“These weapons were designed for one purpose and one purpose only — only to kill the largest amount of people in the shortest amount of time,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a press conference on Friday, the BBC reports. “There is no use, and no place, for such weapons in Canada.”
“You don’t need an AR-15 to bring down a deer,” he added.
Trudeau says the ban, which applies to over 1500 weapons, is effective immediately. Current owners will have a two-year grace period to comply with the ban.
“Today, we are closing the market for military-grade assault weapons in Canada. We are banning 1500 models and variants of these firearms by way of regulations,” Trudeau said. “Effective immediately, it is no longer permitted to buy, sell, transport, import, or use military-grade assault weapons in this country.”
Canada has a population of about 38 million people, and 767 Canadians died by guns last year. By comparison, the U.S. has a population of about 328 million, nearly ten times that of our neighbor to the north, but averages about 36,000 deaths by guns each year.
100 Americans are killed by guns every day, according to the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence.
Watch Prime Minister Trudeau: