Brazil - Brazzil Mag - Brazil's Referendum on Gun Sales May Never Happen

The publication of a Unesco study of deaths in Brazil by firearms has ratcheted up the pressure on the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies to vote authorization for a referendum on the sale of firearms and ammunition.

Congress has already passed a bill prohibiting the sale of firearms and ammunition in Brazil. Voting in the chamber is presently tied up because of other measures that have priority such as temporary measures (MPs) and bills earmarked "constitutional urgency".

The problem is that in order for the referendum to take place this year, the authorization has to be approved by the end of this month.

The president of the Senate, who authored the authorization bill, Renan Calheiros (PMDB-AL), says he will do everything he can to bring it to a vote, including removing the "constitutional urgency" measures from the agenda.

The chief justice of the Superior Electoral Court (TSE), Carlos Velloso, says that if the legislature approves the referendum by the end of June the most probable date for the public consultation will be October 23.

The referendum will consist of one question, which in the original bill was: "Should the sale of firearms and ammunition be prohibited in Brazil?"

This is the first time in Brazilian history that the population is being called on to vote on a measure already approved by the legislature.

Meanwhile, the country's National Disarmament Campaign continues. So far the number of firearms collected is twice what was expected. In just over a year, the campaign has collected 364,000 firearms throughout the country.

Because the campaign has been so successful, the government has now extended it until October 23, when it hopes the referendum will take place.

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written by Guest, 2005-06-28 10:47:52

Criminals will always get guns.

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written by Guest, 2005-06-29 10:13:27

This is a waste of time and an attack on people who can legally own a gun!

I agree with the comment above, criminals will always be able to get guns!

Stop wasting tax payer money on non-solutions!

Loose a love one by a gun.
written by Guest, 2005-08-09 10:56:16

I believe that all the people that agree with the sale of guns in Brazil; making so easy for anyone to obtain a gun. They are helping the criminals. They will only understand the situation when a love one, mother, daughter, son or any other close family member to get killed by a gun shot in the streets. Then, they will do something about......

South African gun owner
written by Guest, 2005-10-21 17:43:45

The gun haters want guns banned to stop the criminals from owning and using them. However, that wont happen. The only way to remove a gun from the hands of a criminal is to shoot him first. Then shoot him again (anything worth shooting once is worth shooting twice). Once the criminal is lying dead, then you are free to remove the gun frm his hands. Now thats my idea of "gun control" What do you all think???

Liberty threatened by fuzzy feel good la
written by Guest, 2005-10-23 19:46:22

Any time the Antigunners come out they tell us how people should give up their lawfully owned property and their natural given rights to defend themselves because criminals could abuse such things.

Basically what they are telling us is that our Liberties are dependant on the lowest common denominator...criminal behaviour. That our freedoms are somehow reliant on what criminals do is called Collective Responsibility and the resultant confiscation of our property is called Collective Punishment.

Collective Responsibility and Collective Punishment were used heavily by Stalin, Hitler, and Mao.

The basic theme of the anti-gunners is to remove guns from the hands of those who would do the most damage with them right?

Then they can start with Governments, Militaries, and Police forces, who over the last 120years have collectively killed 170 million people who were all thusly disarmed by those very same Authorities.

Don't fall for their fuzzy logic and false statistics. Antigunners present statistics like a bikini, they only show you want they want you to see while they leave out the important parts.

Britian has banned many types of firearms while the USA has gone the other way and begun issuing concealed carry permits in many states. The violent crime rate in Britain is now 1400 / 100,000 population, a 300% increase from 1997; whereas the United States' violent crime rate is now at 500 / 100,000 population, a drop of over 200% in the same time period.

By this logic, when guns are outlawed in Brazil, then only outlaws will have them. The anti-gunner theory to crime control is to disarm the victims...don't let it happen in Brazil.