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Montreal city council voted unanimously Monday to demand the federal government outlaw the private possession of handguns and assault weapons.

Councillor Alex Norris, who chairs the city’s public security committee, tabled the motion, which is a declaration that Montreal demands the federal government strengthen its proposed gun law, Bill C-71, with a clear ban on the possession of assault weapons and handguns by anyone except members of the Canadian Armed Forces and police officers.

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The city’s declaration also asks the federal government to beef up screening restrictions so that suicidal, violent or mentally unstable individuals cannot obtain authorization to own a gun.

“Today we speak with one voice asking the federal government to ban these weapons,” Norris told the council meeting. “There is no good reason why a law-abiding individual in Canada needs to possess these kinds of weapons … that were conceived principally to kill human beings.”