The referendum on death

247 – On October 23, 2005, Brazilians went to the polls. They had to answer a single question: “Should the sale of firearms and ammunition be prohibited in Brazil?” There were two options: yes and no. The “no” option received 59.109.265 votes (63,94% of the total); the “yes” option received 33.333.045 (36,06%).

A surprising result, since Brazil is one of the countries where the most people are killed and died with firearms. And in 99% of cases for sordid reasons. Bar fights, traffic altercations, petty theft.

Before the referendum, Brazil was bombarded with a massive media campaign. Many argued that the ban violated individual freedom. The most famous case was that of Veja magazine, which ran a cover story titled "7 reasons to vote no: the ban will disarm the population and strengthen criminals."

Internally, the report was called "the smoke referendum." Here are the seven reasons Veja cited for keeping the arms trade legal in Brazil:

1) Countries that have banned the sale of weapons have experienced an increase in crime and cruelty among criminals;

2) People fear guns. Banning them won't remove them from circulation;

3) The disarmament of the population is historically one of the pillars of totalitarianism. Hitler, Stalin, Mussolini, Fidel Castro, and Mao Zedong are among those who prohibited the people from owning weapons;

4) The Brazilian police are incapable of guaranteeing the safety of citizens;

5) The ban will fuel the already booming illegal arms trade;

6) Obviously, criminals will not obey the ban on the arms trade;

7) The referendum diverts attention from what really needs to be done: cleaning up and equipping the police, the justice system, and the prisons.

With this type of argument, Brazil voted to continue the arms trade. If you are in favor of disarmament, express your opinion on Twitter: #novoreferendoja.