President Bolsonaro of Brazil is following President Trump's lead. On January 15, 2019, Jair Bolsonaro kept a prominent campaign promise. He signed a decree modifying the extreme firearms restrictions passed in December of 2003.
From voanews.com:
Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro has signed a decree making it easier for many Brazilians to own a gun - a measure he says will help people defend themselves. The decree establishes wide categories of people who qualify for gun ownership. Those include people living in rural areas, in urban areas with high levels of homicide, business owners, gun collectors and hunters.
In effect, the named categories include all of Brazil.
Citizens will still have to meet the other requirements in the law. Those include training, a psychological exam, and being 25 years of age or older. Legal gun owners must have a clean criminal record, a fixed address, and have gainful employment.
The decree increases the license period from 5 to 10 years.
The decree automatically renews current licenses for the new period, including licenses that have lapsed.
The decree appears to allow reloaded ammunition to be used for training at authorized ranges.
The decree allows for possession of firearms at home or at businesses.
The most significant reform is the elimination of the subjective "need" requirement to obtain a permit to possess a firearm.
Brazil's constitution grants the President the power to issue provisional decrees, which have the immediate effect of law. The decrees last for 60 days. They require Congressional approval to become permanent. It the Congress does not approve of the decree, it can be reissued, but only one time, for another 60 days.
If the decree is not considered by the Congress in 45 days, it moves to the top of the legislative agenda. This provides incentive for the Congress to act on the decree, and gives the President of Brazil considerable power to shape the legislative agenda.
The 2003 gun law was put in place by Workers Party President Luiz da Silva, who has since been convicted of corruption. He is serving a 12 year prison sentence.
President Bolsonaro's decree is being criticized by both self-defense advocates and those who support the restrictive legislation enacted in 2003.
Advocates of the current restrictive law say reforming the restrictions will increase the homicide rate. Brazil currently has one of the highest homicide rates in the world. In 2017, the rate was 30.8 intentional homicides per 100,000 population.
The homicide rate rose significantly between 1980 and 2003, then leveled off at close to the current rate. The Homicide rate in 2003 was 28.9 per 100,000.
Legal ownership of guns in Brazil is relatively low, at about 3.77 per 100,000. Illegal gun ownership is higher at 4.52 per 100,000, according to the Small Arms Survey.
Advocates for self defense expected the age restriction to be dropped to 21, and allowance made for carrying guns for self defense.
President Bolsonaro said that additional changes in the law will be made by the Congress.
The decree can be viewed here. It is in Portuguese, but online translations do a fair job.
©2019 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.
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After his swearing in, President Bolsonaro announced his goals and commitments:
"To unite the people, rescue the family, respect religions and our Judeo-Christian tradition, combat gender ideology, conserving our values."
~ https://www.vox.com/2019/1/2/18165663/jair-bolsonaro-president-brazil-trump
"With more bold leaders like Bolsonaro ... more leaders and citizens with courage gather to speak the truth and find the resources and popular sentiment to support their fight for faith, family, and freedom." [abridged]
~ https://www.massresistance.org/docs/gen3/19a/Commentaries/Jair-Bolsonaro-Brazil-president.html
I am extraordinarily cautious of Bolsonaro's commitment to RKBA. I have witnessed too many 2-faced politicians talk out of both sides of their mouths on this issue. I am also concerned that his "decree" is merely a ruse to obtain information about citizens who own, or want to own, firearms, and a secret step down the road to even greater disarmament of the Brazilian population.
The good thing about owning a firearm is they work well to thin out the number of those that would come to grab them. If everyone that owns a fire arm gets their quota of gun grabber the number of gun grabbers will decrease rapidly. South of the border countries have only changed governments in the last 100 years or so by actually voting. before that they were usually changed by armed rebellion. I keep telling people diversity has destroyed every nation that has fallen through out history. You either have a culture you are proud of or you don't. every time one culture mixes with another, one of the two has to fail and the other is weakened by the weak minded. Commun8ism may work in Heaven but it certainly fails on Earth always has always will. They always run out of other peoples money until no one has any thing. I worked for what I have and if you don't want to work then do without. You can buy what I have or you can try to take it. Then you wont need it. The Bible tells us If You Want To Eat, Work. feed those unable to work. Life begins at conception. You make it you feed it. Choice ends when you choose to make the effort that can create a baby. The new life is what must be preserved. A spontaneous abortion baby at 20 weeks lived and breathed on its own for 4 hours. It was so small we did not have any thing to work on it with. 26 weeks is viable and three times the size of a 20 week. at seven months it is difficult because at that period of development The baby can and usually will develop what is called Hyaline membranes disease. It is a natural thing to protect the alveoli (air sacks) in the lungs before birth and disappears in the 8th month before delivery. I have helped deliver over 500 babies and only lost 2 that no one could have saved. I love kids and always said I would take any extras. Abortionists should be hung upside down like Mussolini.
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