Brazil limits civilian access to firearms

Brazil President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva Friday signed an edict tightening restrictions on civilian access to firearms, declaring that only the state should be “well-armed”.

According to the decree, civilians can no longer own 9 mm handguns, and the number of handguns allowed for personal safety has been halved from four to two. Civilians must have documentation justifying their possession of firearms, and are allowed to possess up to 50 rounds of ammunition [per firearm], down from 200.

Citizens who are in possession of now-illegal firearms have until the end of the year to sell them or have them confiscated by the Federal Police.

"We will continue to fight for a disarmed country. Only the police and the army must be well-armed," said Lula.

The new mandate is a stark reversal of his predecessor Jair Bolsonaro’s pro-gun rights policies, which saw the number of registered gun owners rise from less than 120,000 to approximately 800,000. According to liberal estimates, there was no increase in the country’s homicide rate.

A nationwide buyback program is expected to be rolled out sometime this year, according to the BBC.

But some Brazilian lawmakers are pushing back against Lula’s new decree. Federal Deputies Paulo Bilynskyj and Mário Frias have introduced draft legislation to override Lula and keep the Bolsonaro-era gun rights.

“I signed, as co-author, Deputy Paulo Bilynskyj’s [draft legislation] with the objective of halting Lula's new disarmament decree that restricts the carrying and possession of weapons in the country,” Frias tweeted Sunday.

“If approved, this [draft law] will reinstate the Bolsonaro government’s legislation.”

Lula’s push to disarm Brazil’s civilians comes as a concern to many. After serving prison time for corruption during his previous presidency, Lula assumed office this year under serious challenges to his legitimacy following a heavily contested election. He has reignited relations with Venezuela’s totalitarian dictator Nicolas Maduro in another reversal of Bolsonaro’s policy.

In April, the Lula administration launched a major crackdown on speech following an attack on a nursery in Santa Catarina when a man massacred four children with an ax. The incident marked the ninth school attack in eight months. Authorities arrested over 300 people — including minors — who were accused of hate speech online or “stoking school violence” though the charges were not been detailed and investigations were kept under seal. Officials within the Lula administration have been pushing for legislation that will make certain speech on social media illegal.

Weeks later, Brazil’s federal police raided Bolsonaro’s home in Brasilia over accusations that he falsified his vaccinations status to gain entry to the United States.

Lula has adopted a totalitarian approach to vaccinations, which he has made a prerequisite for welfare. In May, Lula’s Health Ministry demanded that the Federal Council of Medicine (CFM) take action against health experts who do not embrace all vaccines.