BRAZIL WANTS TIGHTER GUN LAWS: DISARMAMENT STATUTE PASSED IN CONGRESS YESTERDAY

October 24, 2003 – (IANSA) Sweeping gun law reforms were approved in Congress yesterday in Brazil, a country where a person is killed by a gun every thirteen minutes. The legislation, known as the Disarmament Statute, passed by an overwhelming margin of 275 to 18, after hours of emotional debate and a tough battle through a congressional commission.

The bill still needs final approval in the Senate, where it is expected to pass easily sometime next month. It will become law after it has been signed off by President Luiz Inacio da Silva, who has supported the measure.

"In the four months that the Disarmament Statute has been discussed, reviewed, and retooled in Congress, nearly 10,000 people have been killed by guns in this country," said Jessica Galeria, a regional coordinator for the International Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA).

" Studies show that Brazilians want tighter gun laws now."

According to a national poll published by CNT/Sensus earlier this week, 74.1% of Brazilians are in favor of a ban on gun Sales. 62.5% believe that carrying a gun is not a protection against violence, and 49.6% believe that keeping a gun in the home is not either. 19.7% went even further, saying that they believe that having a gun will generate more violence.

The most contentious point of the legislation is a proposed national referendum to ban firearms sales to civilians in Brazil. The referendum, originally set for October 2005, was subject of fierce and often heated discussions throughout this week‚s proceedings. The date was removed in order for the bill to pass, though the referendum itself remained.

" This legislation is a big improvement over the existing law," said Antonio Rangel Bandeira of the Rio-based NGO Viva Rio. "The referendum lets the people - and not gun manufacturers and their rich lobbyists - decide."

Hundreds of thousands of Brazilians have taken to the streets in recent weeks to support the new legislation. Marches were held in Rio de
Janeiro, Acarujá, Recife, and Brasilia. A candlelight vigil will be held in São Paulo today, and a march is being organized for 30 October
in Maceio.

Among other measures, the legislation severely restricts gun possession and permission to carry, making it illegal for any civilian outside of the security forces to carry firearms. Very limited exceptions (such as for those who depend on hunting for their livelihood) are to be conceded by federal, rather than state, authorities. Those who illegally carry illegal firearms would go to jail with no right to bail. Those who are caught drunk or using drugs while carrying a gun will have this right revoked.

The legislation raises the minimum age for buying guns from 21 to 25 years, and typifies arms trafficking as a crime for the first time in
Brazil.

Brokers (intermediary gun sellers known to facilitate passage from legal to illegal markets) are contemplated and subject to controls, as a
result of an amendment to the original bill introduced in Congress.

Similar legislation has been on the books in Brazil since 1996, but pressure from a strong and well-funded gun lobby has kept it from
becoming law.Since that time, over 60 different bills of law had been presented, but none stuck. The Disarmament Statute, which passed easily in the Senate in July of this year, incorporates text from many of these previous attempts.The bill was disfigured by a congressional commission, and then restored in a second before moving to a plenary vote in Congress.

For more information on the text of the Disarmament Statute, see attachment or the following link in Portuguese:
http://www.camara.gov.br/internet/agencia/materias.asp?pk=40629

IANSA is a network of more than 550 organizations working to control gun violence in 100 countries around the world. For more information see: www.iansa.org

Contact: Jessica Galeria, Regional Coordinator for Mercosur IANSA - International Action Network on Small Arms +55 21 2555 3793 / mercosur@iansa.org