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Just overheard: Brazin suspends issuance of gun licenses
- Thread starter Oleg Volk
- Start date
Ok, I thought so. I'd suggest you go to http://www.google.com and do a search on "brazil gun control". I didn't go through all 8,000+ hits, but the first page or two looks like it had more than enough hits to answer any questions you have. Basically, the Brazillian government wants to ban private posession of all firearms and the world's gun control groups are doing everything they can to help.
Slowpoke_Rodrigo
New member
From the Financial Times:
Brazil set to ban gun sales
By Geoff Dyer in São Paulo
Published: June 20 2000 23:02GMT | Last Updated: June 21 2000 03:14GMT
Brazil is set to announce a six-month ban on gun sales as part of a package of measures designed to stem the sharp rise in violent crime. The temporary ban will operate while Congress debates two new legislative proposals, one presented by the government, aimed at restricting the sale of arms.
The measures are in response to mounting concerns among Brazilians over rising violence in the main urban centres and the influence of illegal trade in drugs. The issue is expected to play a prominent role in October's municipal elections.
With his popularity ratings still low despite a recovering economy, President Fernando Henrique Cardoso said the government would spend an extra R$700m ($387m) on security over the next year and R$3bn over three years. The new measures included improved training for police, new equipment for state police and more resources for police intelligence. The armed forces are to receive increased funds for patrolling the border areas for drug trafficking.
Congress is already debating two separate proposals to restrict gun sales. However, both bills have encountered considerable resistance, ranging from politicians from areas of the south where the arms industry is strong to representatives from the Amazon region, who have argued that rural people often need weapons for protection against wild animals.
"With this temporary ban, the government is taking a risk that one of the bills will be approved by Congress," said Carlos Lopes, a political analyst in Brasilia.
With opinion polls showing violence as an ever more important issue for Brazilian voters throughout the country, the government has come under heavy pressure from members of Congress to take more action.
Many experts believe that the crime rate could be reduced substantially without new resources, but by making the police more efficient. For instance, each state has its own civil and military police often with overlapping responsibilities.
The large cities such as São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro have long had a reputation for violence, which has deteriorated sharply in recent years.
In greater São Paulo, an area with a population of around 17m, there were 9,027 murders last year. The number of prisoners in São Paulo state, the country's most populous, has risen from 55,021 in 1995 to 88,546 this month, putting intense pressure on an already overcrowded prison system.
Brazilians are still reeling from the shocking scenes played live on TV last week when a kidnapper shot dead one of his hostages on a bus in Rio. He later died of asphyxiation in a police car.
Brazil set to ban gun sales
By Geoff Dyer in São Paulo
Published: June 20 2000 23:02GMT | Last Updated: June 21 2000 03:14GMT
Brazil is set to announce a six-month ban on gun sales as part of a package of measures designed to stem the sharp rise in violent crime. The temporary ban will operate while Congress debates two new legislative proposals, one presented by the government, aimed at restricting the sale of arms.
The measures are in response to mounting concerns among Brazilians over rising violence in the main urban centres and the influence of illegal trade in drugs. The issue is expected to play a prominent role in October's municipal elections.
With his popularity ratings still low despite a recovering economy, President Fernando Henrique Cardoso said the government would spend an extra R$700m ($387m) on security over the next year and R$3bn over three years. The new measures included improved training for police, new equipment for state police and more resources for police intelligence. The armed forces are to receive increased funds for patrolling the border areas for drug trafficking.
Congress is already debating two separate proposals to restrict gun sales. However, both bills have encountered considerable resistance, ranging from politicians from areas of the south where the arms industry is strong to representatives from the Amazon region, who have argued that rural people often need weapons for protection against wild animals.
"With this temporary ban, the government is taking a risk that one of the bills will be approved by Congress," said Carlos Lopes, a political analyst in Brasilia.
With opinion polls showing violence as an ever more important issue for Brazilian voters throughout the country, the government has come under heavy pressure from members of Congress to take more action.
Many experts believe that the crime rate could be reduced substantially without new resources, but by making the police more efficient. For instance, each state has its own civil and military police often with overlapping responsibilities.
The large cities such as São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro have long had a reputation for violence, which has deteriorated sharply in recent years.
In greater São Paulo, an area with a population of around 17m, there were 9,027 murders last year. The number of prisoners in São Paulo state, the country's most populous, has risen from 55,021 in 1995 to 88,546 this month, putting intense pressure on an already overcrowded prison system.
Brazilians are still reeling from the shocking scenes played live on TV last week when a kidnapper shot dead one of his hostages on a bus in Rio. He later died of asphyxiation in a police car.