Gun politics in Brazil

All firearms in Brazil are required to be registered with the state; the minimum age for ownership is 25cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4368598.stm|title=Brazilians reject gun sales ban |date= October 24, 2005 |accessdate= 2008-06-17 |publisher=BBCNEWS] and it is generally illegal to carry a gun outside a residence. The total number of firearms in Brazil is thought to be around 17 million with 9 million of those being unregistered. Some 39,000 people died in 2003 due to gun-related injuries nationwide.cite web|url=http://www.alternet.org/story/27279/|title=The NRA Takes on Gun Control -- in Brazil |author= Hearn, Kelly |date= October 5, 2005 |accessdate= 2008-06-17 |publisher=Alternet] In 2004, the number was 36,000. Although Brazil has 100 million fewer citizens than the United States, and more restrictive gun laws, there are 25 percent more gun deaths; other sources indicate that homicide rates due to guns are approximately four times higher than the rate in the United States.cite web|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/20/international/americas/20brazil.html |title=Gun-Happy Brazil Hotly Debates a Nationwide Ban |author= Rohter, Larry |date= October 20, 2005 |accessdate= 2008-06-18 |publisher=The New York Times] Brazil has the second largest arms industry in the Western Hemisphere. Approximately 80 percent of the weapons manufactured in Brazil are exported, mostly to neighboring countries; many of these weapons are then smuggled back into Brazil. Some firearms in Brazil come from police and military arsenals, having either been "stolen or sold by corrupt soldiers and officers."

In 2005, a referendum was held in Brazil on the sale of firearms and ammunition to attempt to lower the number of deaths due to guns. Material focused on gun rights in opposition to the gun ban was translated from information from the National Rifle Association, much of which focused on US Constitutional discussions focused around the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution. As a result, "Now, a lot of Brazilians are insisting on their right to bear arms, they don't even have a pseudo right to bear arms. It's not in their Constitution."cite web|url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,173154,00.html|title=Brazilians Block Gun Ban |author= Associated Press |date= October 23, 2005 |accessdate= 2008-06-18 |publisher=Fox News] Although the Brazilian Government, the Catholic Church, and the United Nations, among others, fought for the gun ban, "The gun ownership lobby successfully argued that guns were needed for personal security."

Referendum

The majority of Brazilian population, in 2005, voted against banning the sale of guns and ammunition to civilians in a referendum. Voting was compulsory for people between the ages of 18 and 70. The belief of a fundamental right to self-defense, low efficiency of police, high levels of use of illegal weapons in crimes, and increasing power of criminal organizations (like PCC) are some factors that may have influenced Brazilian people to decide 65% against the ban. The gun ban proposal received mixed support in the press, while celebrities were generally in favor, and drew the attention of international groups such as the NRA. After the referendum, the [http://josiasdesouza.folha.blog.uol.com.br blog of a journalist at the "Folha de S. Paulo"] revealed the main contributions financing nearly all the fight against the referendum was from donations from Taurus (R$2.4 million) and the "Companhia Brasileira de Cartuchos" (Brazilian Cartridge Company) (R$2.6 million), Brazilian manufacturers of firearms and ammunition/firearms, respectively.

The IANSA member groups "Instituto Sou da Paz" and "Viva Rio"cite web
url= http://www.iansa.org/about/members/samerica.htm
title= IANSA: Members: South America
date= 2008-06-18
publisher= IANSA
pages=
language=
doi=
archiveurl=
archivedate=
quote= ] campaigned for a complete ban on civilian gun sales in Brazil, in support of the referendum.cite web
url= http://www.iansa.org/regions/samerica/documents/soudapaz-pr10805.pdf
title= The Campaign for the Brazilian Referendum Starts Today
date= 2005-08-05
publisher= IANSA
pages=
language=
format= pdf
doi=
archiveurl=
archivedate=
quote= ] A week before the vote, IANSA, an international gun control organization coordinated an international day of support for the Brazilian ban, with demonstrations taking place in Britain, Italy, South Africa, and other countries. IANSA urged support of the ban to "reinforce the movement in favor of gun control in other Latin American countries riddled with armed violence, and back the efforts to control private gun ownership at [an] international level."cite news
first = David
last = Morton
title = Gunning For the World
url = http://www.alternet.org/story/38268/?page=entire
work = Foreign Policy
date = 2006-07-05
accessdate = 2008-07-23 ]

The ban also had the backing of the federal government, the Roman Catholic Church, and Globo TV.

ee also

* Gun politics
* IANSA
* Taurus (manufacturer)

Notes and references

External links

* [http://www.cbc.com.br/ Companhia Brasileira de Cartuchos (in Portuguese)] - Produces ammunition and rifles, such as the Remington Nylon 66; more commonly known under the name "Magtech" among English speakers.
* [http://www.imbel.gov.br IMBEL (Indústria de Material Bélico) (in Portuguese)] - Produces weaponry, ammunition, and assorted equipment for the Brazilian Army
* [http://www.iansa.org/index.htm International Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA)]
* [http://www.taurus.com.br Taurus official site (in Portuguese)]