In an effort to put a stop to the rising number of people who own firearms, the Brazil President , Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, has issued an order to strengthen gun control laws.
Stockpiles of firearms and ammunition will be subject to restrictions, and the ownership of certain firearms, such as handguns with a nine-millimeter caliber, will be made illegal.
The new regulations make good on a campaign pledge made by Lula.
The president placed the responsibility for an uptick in political violence that occurred during the race for president the previous year on laxer gun control laws.
We will not give up the struggle to reduce the number of guns in our nation. “Only the military and police should have access to powerful firearms,” Lula declared as he unveiled the new, more stringent regulations.
The declaration was made after a number of recent shootings at schools in a nation that, on average, saw more than five homicides every hour in 2022, according to the Public Security Forum, a non-governmental organization.
According to the 2023 Brazilian Yearbook of Public Security, the number of registered gun owners in Brazil has increased to approximately 800,000, up from less than 120,000 in 2018, when Mr. Bolsonaro was elected.
There is no provision in the constitution for the right to bear arms in this country.
However, in 2019, Mr Bolsonaro issued an executive order that gave Brazilians the right to own up to four handguns, while others were given the authorization to carry loaded firearms in public under specific conditions.
The decree also increased the maximum number of cartridges a person could purchase for banned weapons from fifty to five thousand while permitting them to purchase up to one thousand cartridges for approved guns.
Under the new regulations, a licensed hunter will only be allowed to possess six firearms, down from the former limit of 30; this number may include as many as 15 firearms with restricted access.
“It is one thing for a citizen to have a gun at home for protection and assurance… but we cannot allow there to be arsenals of weapons in people’s hands,” Lula stated in his speech. “It is one thing for a citizen to have a gun at home for protection and assurance.”
Following criticism of the army’s lacklustre control of civilian weaponry, the responsibility for such oversight is being handed to Brazil’s federal police.
Owners of firearms who made purchases under Mr. Bolsonaro will not be required to turn in their weapons, although a buyback program may begin this year.
Mr. Bolsonaro contends that firearms contribute to Brazil’s decreased murder rate, which he cites as evidence for his position that firearms make the country safer.
After being found guilty of misusing his power in the run-up to the presidential election of the previous year, the former president has been disqualified from standing for public office for a period of eight years.
He was accused of harming Brazilian democracy by making false claims that the electronic ballots that were utilized were subject to hacking and fraud. This accusation was made against him.
Lula was victorious in the election’s contentious runoff, which took place on the 30th of October and was decided by a razor-thin margin.
On January 8, supporters of the former president who refused to acknowledge results of election attacked the Brazilian Congress, the Presidential Palace, and the building holding the Supreme Court.
