'We don't think politicians should be the ones determining what weapons are restricted, prohibited,' says PM

OTTAWA (NEWS 1130) – The prime minister isn’t committing to a ban on assault weapons, despite an urgent plea from the injured and families of victims in the Quebec mosque shooting in January, 2017.

Seventy-five injured worshippers and family members of those killed in the attack have have released an open letter, calling on the federal government to ban assault weapons in its gun control legislation that is currently being studied at committee.

The bill does not issue such a ban.

On his way into cabinet this morning, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said it shouldn’t be his call to make.

“We don’t think politicians should be the ones determining what weapons are restricted, what weapons are prohibited. We think that that needs to be the experts [who are] doing it. That’s why we changed back from what the Harper government had done to allow politicians to classify arms. We trust the experts making decisions on the basis of facts and evidence.

The bill will return gun classification authority to the RCMP, in order to prevent political interference.

The shooter in the mosque attack had a legal rifle, but it jammed on his first shot, leading to him to switching to a handgun. The open letter questions how worse the carnage could have been if the rifle hadn’t failed.

Alexandre Bissonnette pleaded guilty in March to six charges of first-degree murder and six of attempted murder.