Firearms

Pro-gun caucus wants to repeal Disarmament Act; we stand in opposition

More than 70% of the 50,000 murders in Brazil in 2013 were committed by firearms, according to the Brazilian Public Security Forum, an NGO that promotes technical cooperation on policing and public security. This alarming scenario, worse than in many places where there are armed conflicts, could be even more violent.

Over the past decade, one factor that has reduced the number of murders in Brazil was the Disarmament Act of 2003, which prompted people to voluntarily hand in more than half a million weapons in the two years following its approval. This led to a 12% reduction in firearm deaths, according to data from the Ministry of Health in 2006.

But members of Congress from the “pro-gun caucus”, a group of lawmakers with links to the arms industry and former police officers and military personnel, are organizing to repeal the Act and facilitate the bearing of arms. Bill No. 3722/2012 of Congressman Peninha Mendonça could be voted in the lower house of Congress on December 10.

To pressure Congress, civil society organizations have come together to oppose the bill and to encourage the participation of the population. “It is inconceivable that a law emerging from major mobilization by civil society, that was preceded by 3 years of intense debates and that has become a model for the control of weapons in a number of other countries, is being threatened in this way. We hope that the members of Congress (…) have the courage to engage in a broad and technical debate before making a decision,” reads a document signed by the Sou da Paz Institute, Conectas, Igarapé and Viva Rio, in addition to other civil society organizations, and delivered to Congress.

Click here to read the letter sent to Congress by civil society organizations