Brazil's senate last month unanimously approved a new bill banning the carrying of firearms by civilians and imposing major restrictions on firearms possession. The gun bill has been overshadowed by the controversial pension reform bill, which is currently fighting its way through congress, but it is hugely significant in its own right. Reducing Brazil's endemic gun violence has been the stated aim of many an administration but with no tangible progress. Overcoming the powerful lobby of the arms industry, which vehemently opposed the bill, was a major achievement.
The bill contains some stringent punitive measures: the illegal possession of firearms will be punishable by 6-year jail terms; illicit arms trafficking by up to 12 years. Cross-border arms trafficking is commonplace with Mercosur partners Paraguay and Uruguay and Amazonian neighbour, Suriname. It will no longer be a bailable offence.
The bill also proposes the complete banning of firearms and ammunition sales to civilians. This will be put to a plebiscite vote scheduled for October 2005. An innovative feature of the bill is that all those wishing to procure firearms will have to pass a number of tests: they will be required to demonstrate that they actually need a weapon, they will have to prove their technical ability to handle a firearm, pass a psychological test, be older than 25 years of age, and pay a hefty tax.
Another requirement under the new bill is that all information related to production, sale and seizure of civilian-use firearms will be centralised into one database. As things stand, there is no central database. This seriously complicates tracking the movement of arms from their point of legal sale into illegal trafficking. The anti-violence NGO Viva Rio recently released a study in which it estimated that some 35% of legally purchased small arms turn up in the illegal arms market.
The bill makes provision for those civilians currently in the possession of firearms, whether acquired through legal or illegal means, either to register them, renew their registrations, or hand them over to the government within 180 days. Owners will be reimbursed for the value of the weapon.
To become law, the bill still has to pass through the chamber of deputies by the end of the month. This could be a close thing as many legislators enjoy the financial support of the arms industry. On the other hand, there is widespread popular support for the bill. Opinion polls show that a solid 64% of Brazilians are in favour of banning firearms possession altogether, while 78% of are in favour of banning the carrying of firearms (over 80% in Rio de Janeiro).
The problem of gang violence is particularly acute in Rio. Last month, a two-day feud between two gangs from rival favelas in Rio left 11 people dead. The two gangs, one from the Favelas de Vigário Geral and the other from Parada de Lucas, were feuding over control of the drug supply business.
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