Kidnapping Revives Brazil Gun Bill By STAN LEHMAN .c The Associated Press BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) - The killing of a hostage and her kidnapper in Rio de Janeiro has prompted Brazil's Congress to take up a long-stalled bill to ban the sale and possession of guns. ``Congress is very sensitive to tragedies in society. The episode in Rio created a greater sense of urgency that we need to control guns,'' Sen. Eduardo Suplicy said Thursday. The bill was proposed after the 1999 shootings at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo., but has languished since then. On Wednesday, the Senate Committee for Justice, Constitution and Citizenship approved the measure. The bill is expected to be approved in the Senate and then go to the Chamber of Deputies, where it must pass in committee and floor votes. Altair Goncalves Soares, the committee secretary, said the proposal still could be modified and would take weeks or months before it becomes law. The measure would restrict possession of firearms to the armed forces, police, private security personnel, collectors, gun clubs and residents of rural areas. Everyone else would have 360 days to turn in their guns and ammunition. According to government figures, Brazilians own an estimated 8 million guns, of which about 6 million are unregistered and mostly in the hands of criminals. Although Rio has a reputation for violent crime, the kidnapping and killings on Monday shocked even jaded Brazilians. For four hours, a 21-year-old ex-convict held passengers hostage on a city bus. As TV cameras broadcast the scene live, he put a .38 caliber revolver in the mouths of several women and threatened to kill them unless he received weapons and money to escape. When the kidnapper finally got off the bus holding a young woman hostage, a policeman jumped up and fired from close range with a submachine gun but missed. The kidnapper shot the woman, 20-year-old art teacher Geisa Goncalves, and she died in the hospital. The kidnapper, Sandro do Nascimento, apparently was unhurt when he was shoved into a police wagon but mysteriously turned up dead at the hospital. An autopsy showed he died of asphyxiation, and hospital officials said the five arresting officers pressured them to list the cause of death as gunshot wounds. Rio de Janeiro state security chief Josias Quintal said the five were arrested and will be charged with murder. President Fernando Henrique Cardoso said he was ``depressed'' by the violence and the ineptness of police. On Wednesday, Cardoso met with top aides to put the final touches on a National Security Plan, which the government plans to announce next week. Although no details were released, Brazilian media say the plan includes hiring 2,000 new federal police agents, construction of prisons for at least 40,000 inmates and better training and equipment for police forces. It would also ban the sale of guns to neighboring countries. Authorities say that many Brazilian-made guns are exported to neighboring Paraguay and Argentina and then smuggled back in to supply a thriving black market of contraband weapons. Still, lawmakers were leery that the plan would be little more than good intentions. ``If it includes money, fine,'' said Rep. Michel Temer, president of the Chamber of Deputies. ``If it's just more laws, give up.'' AP-NY-06-15-00 1542EDT -------[Cybershooters contacts]-------- Editor: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Website & subscription info: www.cybershooters.org
