IANSA members in Guatemala are celebrating the passage through Congress of the new Weapons and Ammunition Control Act on 31 March.

The new law, to be signed by the President on 15 April, is a major victory for campaigners against gun violence. Most significant is a fundamental shift of legal authority: the regulation of firearms will move from the Ministry of Defense to the Ministry of Interior. IANSA members in several other Latin American countries are pressing for a similar shift.

Background checks for licenses become more stringent, and owners must now present their guns when renewing their licence, to stop weapons being diverted to non-licensed users. After 3 annual renewals, a 3-year licence may be granted. All sales will be recorded and transmitted electronically to the central register.

Ammunition will come under much stricter control. Previously, civilians were able to buy up to 500 rounds of ammunition a day. This has been restricted to 250 rounds per month per registered firearm.

The new law recognises the illicit trafficking of firearms as a crime, as recommended by the UN Programme of Action on Small Arms. The penalty for the illegal carrying of a firearm has been increased from 6–12 months to a maximum of 8 years imprisonment.

The law also explicitly forbids the export of small arms to another country if it violates a UN arms embargo or human rights.

The new law has delighted IANSA member group IEPADES, which has been campaigning for reform over the past 10 years. IEPADES is part of Red por la Vida, a network of social justice organisations whose campaign has included lobbying, popular mobilisation, petitions and awareness raising in some of the country’s most violent areas.

Guatemala suffered its worst year of gun violence in 2008, with more than 5,200 gun homicides. This is approximately 14 people shot dead each day in a country of 13 million people. Mayda de León from IEPADES said: “The epidemic of gun homicides is placing our health and justice systems under severe stress. Unfortunately, 2009 seems set to beat last year’s grim record, with gun homicides for January to March exceeding the figures for the same period in 2008.”

A prominent Guatemalan TV journalist was shot dead just one day after the new law passed. Rolando Santis was well regarded for his investigative reporting on urban violence, and had been focusing lately on a wave of shooting attacks on bus drivers. Mayda de León explained that gang members targeted bus drivers for protection money.