Brazil Congress sets sights on Gun Law

After being postponed a number of times in the Lower House, Provisionary Measure* 394 was suspended from voting by Brazil’s Supreme Court (STF), thereby rejecting a proposed extension of the gun licensing period for illegally owned guns (re-registration) to July 2nd, 2008.

In a 7-2 vote, Brazil’s Supreme Court ruled that the MP 394 was unconstitutional because it was identical in content to a previous measure that had been revoked. The decision means that unregistered guns owners will not be able to be issued new licenses, unless they are police officers, judges, or judicial employees.

One hundred and twenty-three. That was the number of amendments proposed by legislators in an attempt to modify Provisionary Measure 394 (MP 394), which extended the period of re-registration of firearms until July 2, 2008. Of this total, only seven were complimentary to the original purpose of Brazil’s Gun Law, known as the Disarmament Statute. All of the others tried to modify its substantive content, weakening the law that entered into force in December 2003.

In the words of Antonio Rangel Bandeira, coordinator of Viva Rio’s Arms Control Project, the text being negotiated between the governor and the rapporteur on the Provisionary Measure, Congressman Pompeu de Mattos (PDT-RS), generally speaking, is a step backwards. “The worst points, which change the nature of the Statute, are the ones that allow military personnel to carry firearms after leaving the service; it requires that physical and psychological aptitude tests are renewed every six, instead of three years; it exempts owners of 22-caliber shotguns or smaller weapons from the tests; it proposes giving the weapons collected to the police; and it would arm the Municipal Guards of cities of 50,000 or more residents.”

Of the amendments proposed that weaken the Statute, 50 extend the authorization to bear arms to 25 other professional categories aside from those provided for by law today. Among them are legislators, lawyers, truck drivers, and taxi drivers, with the justification that these professionals run risks performing their jobs.

According to Rangel Bandeira, allowing people to be armed will neither prevent them from becoming victims of violence and nor make them capable of defending themselves. “Truck drivers, for example, will become prime assault targets. Highway security is enabled through a committed Federal Police force and with satellite protection equipment in trucks,” Bandeira said.
In years that followed the enactment of the Disarmament Statute and of the Voluntary Arms Hand In Campaign – that withdrew from the streets approximately half a million weapons – the number of deaths by firearms fell 12% – or saved 5,000 lives if one were to compare the 39,325 deaths in 2003 with 34,648 victims in 2006.

According to public health data analyzed by the Ministries of Health and Justice, in Rio de Janeiro the reduction in gun-related deaths was 17.5%. The study “Reduction in Homicide in Brazil,” conducted by the Ministry of Health along with the Ministry of Justice reveals that even if the steadily increasing homicide trend were projected to include expected deaths, the reduction would be even more significant: 24% fewer deaths by firearms.

Trend in the number of weapons-related deaths observed and predicted in Brazil per six-month period from 1996 to 2005

Source: Minstry of Health

“As far as it has been applied, the Statute reduced the number of deaths in the country. The positive effect of disarmament is no longer a controversial hypothesis, but a fact. But, instead of implementing the rest of the Statute, which remains largely on paper due to the resistance of powerful interests, a group of legislators wants to do away with the new law due to private interests, endangering public security,” said the sociologist.

According to Heather Sutton, coordinator of mobilization of the arms control area of the Sou da Paz Institute, only nine Congressmen are handling almost 100 of the 123 amendments presented. “A large share of these legislators receive contributions from the weapons industry in the last electoral campaign, demonstrating that economic interests and not national public security interests are what are being represented,” Sutton said.

The congressional subcommittee's Rapporteur on Arms and Weapons, Congressmen Raul Jungmann (PPS-PE) is concerned with the changes and says that the government’s original text is optimal. “It is not often that we receive such a neat Provisionary Measure that meets all the necessary requirements, such as to extend the deadline for re-registration, to remove that which still is illegal and to expand the registry, reducing costs for those who want to legalize their firearms,” Jungmann stated.

Among the changes proposed by Congressman Pompeo de Mattos is the extension of the deadline for re-registry of weapons until December 31, 2008. The rapporteur assured that the legislation would not permit extending the right to bear arms to new professional categories aside from those which today are provided for by law.

Provisionary Measure 394 is a simplified version of Provisionary Measure 379 and only addresses postponing the deadline for renewing fire-arms registry. “Provisionary Measure 394 extends the deadline for firearms registry until July 2, 2008; establishes tax schedules for registry and renewal of firearms certification and for renewal of firearms transport authorization,” explains Heather.

The new deadline is valid for state registries made until the publication date of the Disarmament Statute (Law 10.826/03). The new date limit is the result of negotiation between the reporter, Congressman Pompeo de Mattos, and the government after the revocation of the Provisionary Measure 379,  that extended the deadline until December 31 of this year. The Congressman was removed by the government to facilitate the first round of voting of the PEC on the extension of the CPMF in Congress in September.

Translated by Abby Rubinson

*Note: Provisionary Measures originate in the Executive Branch and immediately enter into effect until they are ratified or voted down by Congress, in which case they cease to exist. 

Full text of the  MP 394/2007 in Portuguese ( PDF)

Full text of Brazil's Gun Law, In Portuguese: Estatuto do Desarmamento