Uruguay: Discussing an agenda for gun control
INTERVIEW/ Daisy Tourné
Congresswoman Daisy Tourné, one of the main champions of gun control in the Uruguayan Parliament is also currently head of the nation’s Ministry of Interior. Since she took office however, progress on the nation’s gun control agenda has been postponed by issues related to violence and insecurity, as well as social demands.
Uruguay has ratified its commitment to passing an organic law on firearms in a seminar held the second semester of 2008 in Montevideo, organized by the civil society organizations Associação de Luta para o Desarmamento Civil do Uruguai (Aludec) and the Instituto de Estudos Legais e Sociais do Uruguai (Ielsur).
Daisy Tourné concedes that levels of violence have grown in Uruguay. The head of the Ministry of the Interior however, laments the fact that the media give crimes prolonged exposure – echoing concerns of her peers in similar positions in Latin America - and that this increases societal demands. Comunidad Segura spoke to the Ministry of the Interior on the topic.
You have been among the first to call for gun control laws in Uruguay. How are efforts developing?
Just last September a seminar was held in the Legislative Palace that included members of civil society organizations, congress members from all parties, the Ministries of Interior and Defense. It was the first time that the topic was taken up by a wide spectrum of the political system, discussing the need for gun control legislation explicitly. The event was organized by the NGO Aludec.
What is the scale of the issue of armed violence in Uruguay?
It still has great impact in the lives of Uruguayans. We estimate that one in four Uruguayans owns a firearm, in a population of three million citizens. We have approximately 600 thousand registered gun owners and estimate that there are an equivalent number of illegal guns in circulation.
What is worrying is that although numbers are still more or less the same, there is a growing trend in violent behavior, which leads to an irresponsible use of firearms.
Do you believe that seminars created by civil society organizations have been fruitful?
Certainly, especially because they have the goal of bringing the various social actors on the topic to express their positions at a common ground, the seminars are also helpful to raise awareness in a population that is becoming more aware of the topic. As the campaign motto puts it, “If you have a gun, you have a problem”.
How does gun control fit in the Uruguayan agenda?
The setting for the topic of citizen security does not really help much. The subjective aspect of crimes - victimization - and its huge impact on the media, even allowing for the fact that crime rates remain stable, increase the likelihood that citizens find gun possession by civilians justifiable.
Could you explain a little further?
We must not forget that the topic of security is easy prey for demagogy of the roughest kind, and that the population in such a setting becomes more permeable to a more conservative discourse.
And what is the government doing to minimize this?
At this point we are concentrating our efforts on local security round tables, were we foment open debate and the collective search for solutions.
Read Further:
From the En La Mira Monthly Newsletter
User login
Newsletters
Who's online
Upcoming events
Comments
More Guns=More Freedom
Don't let the brave "American" above discourage you from leaving gun control alone.
People like him/her enjoy the misery of others and want to control the lives of others.
They want to see you get hurt and be helpless to do anything about it.
Responsible people need guns to protect themselves from those who would do them harm.
You can't regulate how strong a man can be. Why would you take away the rights of a woman or a weaker man who may have to defend himself/herself from a much larger attacker?
Guns are good. They always have been and they always will be.
Anybody who tells you different means to cause you harm.
Post new comment