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Prime Minister Mark Carney was unable to keep a personalized handgun presented to him at the NATO summit because of the Liberal government's handgun transfer freeze, forcing the gift to be surrendered to the RCMP.

Discussing the incident, Sheila Gunn Reid and Tamara Ugolini said the engraved pistol highlighted what they described as an ironic consequence of Canada's firearms laws.

"How embarrassing that they can't even allow Carney to take this gift home," Gunn Reid said. "That's the state of affairs for firearms ownership in this country."

The handgun was engraved specifically for Carney but could not legally be transferred into his possession under the federal handgun freeze.

"He can't even make it non-fireable and bring it home as a souvenir," Gunn Reid said. "It's because it's a firearm being transferred to him... it has to be immediately turned over to the RCMP for destruction."

There have been reports that officials were considering placing the firearm in a museum as a workaround to accept it and bring it into the country.

Contrast this with the experience of ordinary Canadians, where the gun laws force historic family firearms to be surrendered and destroyed rather than put in a museum.

How can Mark Carney's gift go to a museum when ordinary Canadians' family history cannot be preserved in that way?