Federal Conservatives call for mandatory minimums as part of plan to stop gun violence

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – If Andrew Scheer and the federal Conservatives have their way, anyone caught with an illegally smuggled firearm would face mandatory prison time and a lifetime ban from owning a gun.

Taking aim at the federal Liberal’s proposed blanket handgun ban, Scheer outlined his own plan to reduce gun violence by cracking down on cross-border smuggling and gang criminals.

“More than half our gun murders are tied to gangs,” Scheer said at Tuesday’s announcement in Vancouver. “We’re going to make sure that violent gang members end up where they belong: behind bars.”

Scheer would also make lifetime firearm bans mandatory for anyone found guilty of serious violent offences and gang crimes.

Calling the existing provincial mental health legislation “a patchwork approach,” Scheer said if elected in the next federal election, he would require the seizure of guns from detained mental health patients.

Those patients would be able to apply to have their guns returned if they can demonstrate that their condition has “stabilized.”

Scheer chose Crabbe Park, with the Port of Vancouver as its backdrop, to pitch his tough-on-crime platform which he says would make for a safer Canada.

“A lot of firearms that are brought into Canada are brought in illegally over the border, obviously at border crossings but also at ports,” he said.

As part of the Conservative’s seven-point plan, a new task force would be formed under the Canadian Border Services Agency and border guards would be granted more freedom to work with law enforcement both in the United States and Canada.

The pitch also includes promises to impose serious consequences for anyone found supplying legally purchased guns to people prohibited from owning firearms, or retailers that choose to sell guns to criminals.

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