Brazil: "Brazil moves to tighten gun laws"

[cuchulainn]

from the BBC

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3209999.stm

Last Updated: Friday, 24 October, 2003, 07:01 GMT 08:01 UK

Brazil moves to tighten gun laws

Brazil's lower house of Congress has passed a bill to tighten gun laws in a country which saw 40,000 murders last year - one of the world's highest rates.
The legislation, which now goes to the Senate for final approval, restricts gun ownership and obliges owners to register their weapons.

The bill also calls for a referendum on whether to ban gun sales outright.

But after long discussions, deputies did not set a date for the vote.


Nevertheless, it is quite an achievement for the law, known as the Statute of Disarmament, to have got so far, says the BBC's Steve Kingstone in Sao Paulo.

More than 50 other gun control bills have come before Congress over the years and failed to become law.

Campaigners say that the difference this time is that public opinion is overwhelmingly in favour of gun control.

Gun deaths

Last month, around 50,000 people tired of continuing gun violence took to the streets of Rio de Janeiro to demand action.

Brazil has one of the highest murder rates in the world - an average of 26 per 100,000 people each year.

Armed violence is the main cause of death among young men in the 15 to 29 age group in Rio

The new law, if given final approval by senators, would, for the first time, introduce a national gun registration scheme in Brazil.

Only police officers and approved security guards would be allowed to carry guns.

Other measures include:


Background checks before allowing someone to buy a gun

Tougher prison sentences for illegal possession of firearms.

A rise in the minimum age for gun purchases from 21 to 25

However, deputies did water down the most controversial aspect of the legislation, amid opposition from the powerful gun lobby.

The proposed referendum on whether to ban gun sales to civilians was to have taken place in 2005.

But in the end, deputies removed the date from the final text.

 

[Bill Hook]

Brazilian cops may be more ruthless than Mexican cops. I'd bet a good chunk of the murders committed there are done by the police.

 

[makarov1]

Wow. I just don't know what to say. I guess since gun bans haven't worked in England or Australia to reduce crime, I just know gun bans will work in Brazil. And I know that the good people of Brazil can trust a Latin American government that seeks to restrict citizens' access to weapons. We all know that Latin American governments are benevolent, and would only work in the citizens' best interests.

It appears that these are professional sheep, not mere amateurs, setting themselves up for a gloomy, crime-filled future. Buckle up Brazilians, it's gonna be a fun ride.

 

[Standing Wolf]

Maybe Brazil ought to do something about criminals.