Dear reader, online ads enable us to deliver the journalism you value. Please support us by taking a moment to
Brazil to end restrictions on gun ownership
RIO DE JANEIRO: Brazil, which has one of the highest murder tolls on the planet, could soon end most restrictions on gun ownership, risking what one critic called a “Wild West” scenario.
A draft law stripping away current limits has already been approved in committee and is due to go to the lower house of Congress in November.
Under the law, anyone over 21, including people accused of crimes or convicted of less than serious crimes, would be allowed to purchase up to nine firearms a year and 50 rounds of ammunition a month.
State employees and public figures, ranging from government inspectors to politicians, would be authorised to carry arms, as would private citizens often in the public eye such as taxi drivers.
At present, weapons can only be bought legally by people obtaining a license on a case-by-case basis.
Supporters say freeing up gun sales will allow people to protect themselves in a country plagued by violent robbery and intense confrontations between drug gangs and police, with some 40,000 gun-related deaths a year.
“Our proposal is to guarantee the good citizen’s right to self-defence”, said the law’s author Laudivio Carvalho, from the powerful centrist PMDB party.
But opponents fear that Brazil’s orgy of gun violence would simply spin further out of control.
“It’s a return to the Wild West,” said Ivan Valente, a deputy from the leftist PSOL party.
Published in Dawn, October 31st, 2015
On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play
Comments (8) Closed
Given how low the American homicide rate was in the "Wild" West, possibly the lowest it has been in US history, Brazil returning to the Wild West could only be a good thing.
And yes I see it's a leftist who wants to see the people defenceless.
Let's use this as a lesson in "Gun's save lives" And show that an armed citizenry can reduce crime by simply refusing to be victims. Brazil, and especially Rio and Sao Paulo have had incredibly high violent crime rates. John Lott's study and published data certainly equate to "More guns = less crime" This is a perfect opportunity to demonstrate this. When the playing field is level and criminals face armed victims, the homicide rate will drop DRAMATICALLY.
I think this would be awesome for the Brazilian people. Everyone should be able to protect themselves as effective as they can and most of the time that is with a firearm.
Good luck.
@Jason EXACTLY!
@John I doubt that we will see the homizide rate drop. Or at least it won't drop significant. Brazils biggest problem is the low powerty rate, especially in the cities (where the crime rate is the highest). Many people are in gangs and they already have guns and fight each other. I think a drop in poverty rate would be way better for Brazil, but that's not a problem that's solved easy.
I am glad that the Brazil legislature is seeing the fact that more people with guns equals more people that can protect themselves in the case that they are attacked. WE must believe most people to be good, therefore arming the general populace should lower crime and murder as we have seen in US sttaes where conceal carry has gradually been introduced since the 1980s. Now they need this policy also in Mexico and most South/Central American countries where only the thugs and the police(organised thugs) get to cary arms and that is why central America has the highest gun murder rate on earth.
@Melvin I'm from Brazil. We had a referendum in 2005 in which we decided that gun commerce should NOT be forbidden in our country. So politicians did not forbid it, but made even more restriction to gun possession. As a result, crime skyrocketed.
It's obvious that crime is reduced together with poverty, but our poverty is mainly due to awful government control. So, one lesson that's learned is: The more government control, less quality of life, on every aspect.
We just want BACK our right to defend ourselves and our families agaings criminals, it that to ask for too much? Ivan Valente is against that new law but on the other hand he wants to legalize drugs and abortion! That said, who´s againt life here?!