Organizations prepare campaign against easing gun ownership laws.

CUT - With the signing by Jair Bolsonaro (PSL), this Tuesday (15), of the decree that relaxes gun ownership in Brazil, civil society entities and public security experts are preparing resistance against the facilitated access to weapons in the country. The idea is to bring together various sectors, including churches, to draw society's attention to the possible consequences of arming the population.

The Sou da Paz Institute is one of the entities that is part of the initiative and will launch a national campaign to reinforce the understanding that combating violence and crime is achieved through investment in security, not by arming the population. The campaign will state, for example, that Bolsonaro's policy can be fatal in cases of domestic violence.

"It will be a step backward and should accelerate violent deaths with firearms," ​​Ivan Marques, executive director of the institute, told the Folha de São Paulo newspaper.

In an interview with Portal CUT last November, Ivan stated that insisting on "arming the population is to transform society into a bloodbath."

The institute's director also pointed out that, even with the Disarmament Statute, the sale of weapons continued in the country. According to data from the Federal Police (PF), six weapons are sold every hour in Brazil.

"The Statute is a code with 35 articles and is not a unitary piece of legislation; it has regulations, decrees, ordinances, and norms. It is a complex of norms that determines the gun control policy, and there is no reason for us to backtrack on this achievement," he explained.

Law 10.826 of 2003, enacted by former President Lula, was responsible for saving more than 160 lives between 2003 and 2012, according to data from the Sou da Paz Institute based on the Violence Map report. Currently, the homicide rate in Brazil is 29,9%, indicating that disarmament helped to stem the growth in the number of homicides in the country.

Before the law that established rules and restricted access to weapons and ammunition in 2003, the homicide rate involving firearms was growing at 8% per year.

Most people are against gun ownership.
A survey by the Datafolha Institute reveals that six out of ten Brazilians are against gun ownership and advocate for its prohibition. The percentage, which reached 55% in October, rose to 61% in the survey conducted between December 18 and 19, 2018, and released this Monday (14). The total number of people in favor of carrying weapons fell to 37% – in October it was 41% – and 2% did not express an opinion.

Legalization of militias
Fernando Haddad, former presidential candidate for the Workers' Party (PT) and former mayor of São Paulo, commented on the matter via social media.

According to Haddad, many people don't know this, but public safety is one of the first rights guaranteed by the modern state, and "the liberalization of weapons takes us back to pre-modernity and will lead us to the privatization of this public service."

In the post, Haddad also mentioned that there is a bill in progress, authored by then-federal deputy Jair Bolsonaro, now president of the Republic, that would allow anyone who justifies it as necessary for their safety to carry firearms in the country.

"A firearm license may be granted to individuals who justify the need for it for their personal safety or the safety of their property," states an excerpt from Bill 7282/14.

Currently, gun ownership is permitted only to those who can prove a need, and its release is evaluated by the Federal Police. Furthermore, it is necessary to prove, through documentation, formal employment, fixed residence, no criminal record, and no pending legal proceedings. It is also required to present certificates of technical and psychological aptitude.