In reference to the request for more information on Brazil please see a recent post to a Brazil forum on firearm laws, and 2 press releases by Join Together. I also included a link to a 1999 Christian Science article that provides more background material. South America is a neglected area of research at least in the material on the gun debate that I have read. Join Together deserves some credit for drawing attention to what is occurring in this region of the world.
Rich
http://www.brazzil.com/ikonboard%20archive/Brazzil%20Forum%20-%20Gun%20Laws%20in%20Brazil.htm
Brazilians without a criminal record may apply to the Policia Civil for a gun license (Registro) In fact, Brazilians are entitled to keep up to SIX firearms at home and business premises (up to two pistols, two rifles and two shotguns - source Casa Salles, armourer, Belo Horizonte, MG). However, although it is relatively straightforward for Brazilians to keep guns at home and at their business premises, this DOES NOT mean that they are entitled to carry guns in public places. In order to do that an extended license is required which IS difficult to acquire (Porte). Foreigners, unlike Brazilian nationals, are not entitled to keep or carry guns in Brazil - although, naturally, there is nothing to stop the Brazilian spouse of a foreign national from keeping a firearm at home or at the business premises. If you are a foreigner needing protection in Brazil, hire a licensed security specialist - who will be licensed to carry firearms by the Civil Police of the State of residence. For more information see - Sistema Nacional de Armas (SINARM) - Lei 9.437. de 20 Fevereiro de 1997.
Brazilians Want Gun-Control Measures
7/24/2003
http://www.jointogether.org/gv/news/summaries/reader/0,2061,565639,00.html
With unregistered guns accounting for most of the firearms deaths in Brazil, residents are calling for tighter gun-control measures, Reuters reported July 22.
Brazil's Congress is considering legislation that would tighten handgun-purchase rules and impose strict prison sentences for illegal gun ownership. The measure also would require a referendum in 2005 to ban gun sales, similar to that enforced in Britain.
"We have to move toward disarmament in Brazil because firearm use has reached absurd levels," said lower house deputy Eduardo Greenhalgh, chief sponsor of the arms bill.
Brazil has one of the world's highest murder rates. Between 1991 and 2000, an estimated 266,000 Brazilians were killed by firearms.
According to officials, there are about 20 million unregistered guns in Brazil. Under the proposed legislation, gun owners would have 180 days to either register their firearms or hand them into police. Violators would face up to four years in prison.
The bill also would require gun buyers to undergo a background check, take a psychological exam, and demonstrate knowledge of gun use. In addition, the legal age for purchasing a gun would go from 21 to 25.
The legislation could pass as early as next month.
Viva Rio: Compatible Laws Needed to Reduce Armed Violence in South American Countries
2/25/2003
Press Release
Viva Rio
Ladeira da Gl�ria, 98, Gl�ria
Rio de Janeiro-RJ
www.vivario.org.br
Compatible Laws Needed to Reduce Armed Violence in South American Countries
Study says Weak Gun Laws Create "undesirable neighbors," jeopardize regional safety
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - Loopholes in gun laws in South American countries, particularly Paraguay and Bol�via, undermine much needed efforts to reduce armed violence in the region, according to research by the Brazilian NGO Viva Rio. The study provides a comparative analysis of gun laws in the MERCOSUR subregion -- Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, Bolivia and Chile -- and points up shortcomings in firearms regulations for these countries that exacerbate problems with gun-related crime and illegal trafficking.
The study analyzes the region's firearms laws regulating internal trade, imports, exports, transit, registration, and carry laws and, for the first time, holds them against international standards established by the Organization for American States (OAS). According to researchers, human safety in the entire region is compromised by certain legal flaws in domestic gun legislation, evidencing a clear need for harmonization of these laws.
Paraguayan law, for example, allows foreign tourists to purchase weapons that would be illegal in their own countries. The "tourists" -- often members of organized narcotrafficking groups from neighboring countries -- can then easily transport firearms back home, where they are used to commit a host of crimes and abuses. In Bolivia, existing regulations do not stipulate any criteria with regard to firearms exports, and the only requirements to buy, posses and carry firearms are to be of legal age, and to declare sound physical and mental health and good conduct. Current efforts to revise this legislation do not adequately address these concerns, according to the report.
These shortcomings clearly undercut gun safety efforts in countries like Argentina and Brazil, where controls are more rigorous, as mandated by national regulatory bodies, the Registro Nacional de Armas (RENAR), and the Sistema Nacional de Armas (SINARM) , respectively.
The study uses the Model Regulations for the Control of the International Movement of Firearms, Their Parts, Components and Ammunition, established by the Inter-American Commission for Control of Drug Abuse of the OAS as its measuring stick. The main objective of these Model Regulations is to promote transparency in the legal firearms trade by creating a harmonization model to prevent the diversion of firearms from legal trade activities to illegal markets and activities.
The complete document, MERCOSUR: HARMONIZING LAWS FOR THE PREVENTION OF ILLICIT FIREARMS TRANSFERS, by lawyer Carolina Iootty de Paiva Dias, was produced in partnership with the Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies (Project Ploughshares) in Canada, with the support of the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT). It is available for download in Spanish, English and Portuguese on www.desarme.org. The direct link to the study in English is www.desarme.org/publique/media/mercosur_legislation.pdf (PDF Document).
Join Together Online publishes selected press releases consistent with our mission to support communities working to prevent gun violence. The views expressed are those of the issuing organization and do not necessarily represent Join Together.
Christian Science Monitor 1999 article
Chocolates for guns? Brazil targets gun violence
A June ban on gun ownership in Rio triggers a federal push for a wider ban next month.
Jack Epstein
Special to The Christian Science Monitor
RIO DE JANEIRO Activists in Rio, one of the world's most violent cities, have been waging a high-profile campaign in recent months to turn Brazil into a world champion of gun control.Volunteers in T-shirts with "Rio, Put Down That Gun" logos ask pedestrians to sign petitions to shut down legal gun dealers; churches collect arms that are later destroyed; children are given chocolates in exchange for toy guns; and students debate the issue as part of a school curriculum called "education for peace.""This campaign is about sending a message to our national Congress," says Rubem C�sar Fernandes, executive secretary of Viva Rio, a nongovernmental agency that studies urban crime. "We don't have as many guns as the United States, but we use them more."In June, the Rio de Janeiro state government passed one of the world's toughest gun laws, banning arms and ammunition sales to anyone but police, military, and private security forces. It prompted the federal government to propose a similar law.
For the rest of the article see the following link:
http://search.csmonitor.com/durable/1999/08/10/p7s1.htm
