In an unprecedented decision for Latin American, the Brazilian
Congress has approved a new law that makes it illegal for most
civilians to carry firearms. The new law, called the Disarmament
Statute, received final approval after six hours of debate in
the Senate on 9 December 2003. The decision ends a five-year
stalemate between those for and against gun control in the Brazilian
legislature. The law was considered a historic decision by members
of the Senate, and sets a national referendum to vote on an outright
ban on gun sales for civilians, to be held in October, 2005.
The role of NGOs
Several senators recognized the importance of the role of civil
society organizations, such as Viva
Rio (Rio de Janeiro), Sou
da Paz (São Paulo), and
Convive (Brasília) mobilizing congress to approve
the Disarmament
Statute. Representatives of these NGOs welcomed the provision
on the referendum, saying they believe it will spark a national
debate,
promoting awareness that will help implement and enforce the
new law.
The Disarmament Statute tightens up restrictions on owning and
carrying guns, including making it illegal for almost anyone
outside the armed forces and police to carry firearms. The minimum
age to purchase firearms will go up from 21 to 25, in a country
where young males are killed by firearms at a rate four times
higher than that of the general population. In Rio de Janeiro,
the gun death rate among young people reaches 239 per 100,000
residents, twenty times higher than the rate in the United States
or 2,000 times higher than in Japan.
 The
new law stipulates that ammunition must be marked in order to
facilitate tracing. This last article
faced heavy resistance
by the gun lobby. Before the vote, the munitions industry CBC
alleged that it was “economically unviable” to mark
ammunition with the name of the buyer. Viva Rio destroyed this
argument in the national media, showing five bullet cases, produced
by the same CBC in the 1950s, that had been marked with the name
of the buyer.
Defeat of the Brazilian gun lobby and the NRA
The approval of the new law meant a big
defeat for the firearms and ammunition lobby in Brazil. The
country has the second biggest
arms industry in the Americas and the sixth largest in the world.
The lobby had direct assistance from the US-based NRA, whose
president came to Rio to discuss strategies to defeat the Disarmament
Statute in the months before the vote. Tactics of the gun lobby
in Brazil include financing electoral campaigns and translating
and distributing the NRA’s pro-gun message. At the same
time, Brazilian NGOs working for gun control provided members
of Congress with a steady stream of well documented research
conducted in Brazil, or sent from NGOs in the IANSA network from
other countries, in order to show that tightening gun laws is
an important step to reducing mortality rates.
Several marches held in main state capital cities in Brazil
had a strong impact on parliamentarians who voted to approve
the new law. The first such mobilization brought together 50,000
people to march for the Disarmament Statute in Rio de Janeiro.
The cast of a popular TV series participated in the event, and
the program
incorporated the issue of disarmament into the script, which
started a national debate on the risks of using firearms. The
combination of popular demonstrations, an intense and spontaneous
campaign against armed violence by the main media outlets, and
the shocking 40,000 people were killed by guns last year alone – led
82% of Brazilians, to support the Disarmament Statute according
to a recent poll by Instituto Sensus. Evidently, the opinions
of an overwhelming majority of concerned voters held more weight
than the financial pressure of the gun lobby.
Advances in gun control
The new law outlaws international firearms trafficking, establishing
sentences of up to 15 year in prison, without the right to bail.
Brazil is the first country in South America to do so.
The Disarmament Statute, which was originally
introduced in the Senate, was later disfigured in the House
of Representatives.
The latter is more susceptible to pressure from the gun lobby
and the army. In the final vote, the Senate restored the date
for the referendum on banning gun sales, set to occur in October
2005. It also makes it illegal for youth detention center guards
to use guns. Those who wish to turn over their guns to the government,
even if they are unregistered, can do so without being prosecuted
and will receive a symbolic payment. Firearms seized by police
must be destroyed within 48 hours of being released from the
judicial process in which they are implicated, thus avoiding
possible stockpile “leaks.” Finally, those who possess
firearms must keep them in their home, but will not be allowed
to keep them in their work.
Following the success of the strictest gun law in the Americas,
Brazilian anti-violence NGOs are preparing for two years of hard
campaigning before the referendum, in order to keep the pressure
up so that Brazilians will vote for a complete ban on firearms
sales in the country.
For more information go to Desarme.org
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