BC gun store sees a month's worth of handgun sales in one day after Trudeau announces freeze

A British Columbia gun and ammunition store says that sales for handguns have gown through the roof after the Trudeau Liberals made the announcement that there would be a nationwide freeze on the buying, selling, or transfer of handguns.

Global News spoke to Scott Carpenter of the International Shooting Supplies store in Surrey, saying that he sold a month's worth of handguns in one day.

"I just want to apologize to the 70-plus people who’ve left messages that I can’t return right now," Carpenter said.

"(I want to) let (people) know, we’re at the top of the wave and don’t know what we’ll do next. We’re going to do our best," he told Global News.

"People have been actually pretty patient, don’t get me wrong. They understand that we’re under a lot of pressure right now and it’s a time-sensitive situation," Carpenter said.

"My clients have been pretty understanding and decent with us. I’m not going to complain about that, but it’s just the sheer volume — it’s overwhelming."

Trudeau announced the gun control measures that he says will "protect communities," including a freeze on "handgun ownership," on Monday.

Trudeau announced that he would put forward legislation that would implement a national freeze on handgun ownership. "What this means is that it will no longer be possible to buy, sell, transfer, or import handguns anywhere in Canada," he said to applause.

"As a further part of this new legislation, we're also fighting gun smuggling and trafficking by increasing maximum criminal penalties and providing more tools for law enforcement to investigate firearm crimes," he announced.

"We'll require the permanent alteration of long gun magazines so they can never hold more than five rounds. These are actions that doctors, experts, and chiefs of police have been calling for for years, and we're acting on their advice."