By KEILE CAMPBELL

kcampbell@tribunemedia.net

ATTORNEY General Ryan Pinder said government would introduce a new Firearms Act to target untraceable firearms and 3D guns, require routine inspection of guns for those licensed to have them and provide greater detail about which guns are prohibited.

He also said government may prevent people with a criminal record, mental illness, alcohol or substance abuse disorder, and those who fail to complete a gun safety course from getting a firearm licence or renewing their licence.  

He said the new bill will be “all-encompassing, having broad application and will go a long way to addressing the scourge of firearms in our country”.

He said it would target “ghost guns”, unserialised and untraceable firearms, “including gun kits, assembling firearms from kits, as well as the production of 3D firearms”.

He said people in the country are printing firearms components using 3D printers and assembling them to produce a working firearm.

He said no legislation currently regulates such technology.

He said the new legislation would have “a much wider coverage of illegal firearms” and would detail what is prohibited in terms of high-powered firearms, assault weapons, submachine and machine guns and any parts, accessories, and ammunition for such weapons.

“We have persons who have properly licensed firearms who then convert them into an automatic type of weapon or other weapon which is not a licensable firearm, and because we don’t have firearm inspections, there’s no way for you to actually know that they’ve done this to a licensed firearm,” he said. “All you do is renew your licence.”

“We will call for routine inspections of licensed firearms.”