Understanding disarmament status, which changed the rules of possession and possession of weapons in 2003 | Politics

Understand what the law determines, what were its objectives for its development, as well as the criticisms and defenses of the original text.

What is the status of disarmament?

The status of disarmament is an arms control policy in force in the country since 22 December 2003. It has been sanctioned with the aim of reducing the flow of arms and establishing strict sanctions for crimes such as possession illegal and contraband. The law was regulated by a decree of 1 June 2004.

What the law establishes

The law sets new, more restrictive rules for the purchase and possession of weapons in the country, as well as new penalties. illegal possession and possession of unregistered firearms.

The law maintains the marketing of firearms and legal ammunition in the country, but increases the rigor so that a person can acquire a weapon legally. It states that the following conditions must be met:

• Must be able to respond to a police investigation or prosecution
• Must be at least 25 years of age
• have an effective need to have the rifle.

Portage is the document giving the right to transport, transport, purchase, supply, lend or keep a weapon or ammunition in its custody. To take the street with a gun next to the body or use it to hunt, for example, it is necessary to carry a weapon.

Persons matching the following profiles may obtain the document:

• Members of the armed forces;
• Military police officers, civilian police officers and serving officers;
• Municipal guards of capitals or cities of more than 500 inhabitants
• Prison officers,
• Agents of private security companies and the transport of securities or members of the public, need a weapon for a professional use.

In addition to meeting the criteria for possession of weapons, these people must also do a height test, which makes it possible to check whether it has characteristics of violence, emotional control and even to check whether a characteristic is omitted from the badessment.

• Possession or keeping on fire of a weapon, an accessory weapon or an irregular ammunition, that is to say without respecting the provisions of the law, is liable to a penalty of one to three years imprisonment and a fine. ammunition without authorization or in disagreement with the legal decision are punishable by a fine of two to four years

The law still provides penalties for the offenses of illegal trade in firearms, international traffic and possession or illegal possession of restricted use.

The law also created the Disarmament Campaign, which rewards people who surrender their weapons, with or without registration, to public security agencies. Amounts received range from $ 150 to $ 450, depending on the type of weapon.

When it was created and for what reasons

The statute was discussed for several years until it was approved by Congress and sanctioned by President Lula in 2003. Lula and several NGOs such as Instituto Sou da Paz and Viva Rio, said the statute would help reduce violence and disrupt the sources of organized crime.

The main idea that guided its development is that, when disarming the population, there are fewer homicides and accidents, as well as fewer weapons in possession criminals.

Defenders and Critics of the Law

Defenders of the law claim that this policy helps the public forces to fight crime and control the amount of weapons in circulation in the country. Here are some arguments defended by those who support the bill:

• The fewer weapons in circulation, the lower the rates of firearm and crime deaths.
• The legal arms market is fueling the illegal market. That is why the less there will be firearms registered in the country, the less weapons will be available to criminals. As a result, the rate of growth of violent deaths is decreasing.
• The carrying of arms increases the risk of accidental deaths or fights in the domestic traffic or road, for example

Detractors of disarmament claim that homicides in Brazil have not decreased with the law. In addition, they claim not to have objective objectives to determine the "actual need" of a weapon. The critics of the law are as follows:

• The number of deaths continues to grow in the country. In 2017, for example, Brazil has broken a record number of murders, with nearly 64,000.
• The disarmament campaign is ineffective because it removes the weapons of "good people", but not criminals, leaving the majority of the defenseless population.
• The law contains subjective sections and requires the submission of numerous documents,

In October 2005, as planned in December 2003, Brazil organized a referendum to consult the public on the ban on the trade in firearms and ammunition, one of the pbadages discussed in law.

The question asked at the time was: Should the trade in firearms and ammunition be banned in Brazil? Possible options were "no" (against prohibition) and "yes" (in favor of prohibition). The elector of the "no" entered the number 1 and the elector of the "yes", the number 2.

At the time, the majority of voters (63.68%) s & # 39; Is expressed against Article 35 of the Disarmament Statute. which prohibits the marketing of firearms and ammunition throughout the national territory, with the exception of armed forces, police and private security companies.

The "no" wins in all states and has the biggest advantage over the "yes" of Rio Grande do Sul.

Although the public has protested against the prohibition of commercialization, the status maintained with greater restrictions on the acquisition of firearms.

What changed after the law

Since 2003, the law has undergone changes in its text, even under Lula governments. Law 11.706 of 2008 brought the main changes in the wording of the text. Among the changes made to the text is the pbadage on possession of weapons for rural residents, which has begun to define what types of weapons and documents are needed for the possession of weapons.

Another change, for example, was made by Decree 8.938 of 2016, which amended the regulation of the law. With the change, the possibility was offered to give the seized weapons to the security forces of Brazil. One year after the decree, however, an investigation by G1 showed that fewer than 200 weapons on more than 135,000 seizures had been given.

In addition, several projects aimed at easing the status have already been dealt with by the Congress, many of which relate to the facilitation of the purchase, possession and possession of firearms in the country .