Brazil gun laws falter
Canadian Institute for Legislative Action
15 September 1999
BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) -- Residents of Rio de Janeiro could buy guns again Friday after Brazil's Supreme Court ruled that a three-month-old law banning gun sales was unconstitutional.
In its ruling Thursday, the court unanimously agreed that banning gun sales is unconstitutional because under Brazilian law arms are regulated at the federal, not the state level.
"I hope that tomorrow we are not responsible for delinquency in Rio," the vice-president of the Supreme Court, Marco Aurelio de Mello, told reporters after the ruling.
A spokeswomen for Rio state Gov. Anthony Garotinho, who introduced the law, said he had no immediate comment on the decision.
The Rio de Janeiro law, the toughest in the country, punished arms sales with fines and confiscation of weapons.
Nationwide, Brazilians are divided over another proposal to ban the sale and possession of guns. Gun control advocates submitted a bill to Congress in June that would allow only the armed forces, police and private security personnel to possess a firearm.
Distributed By:
Canadian Institute for Legislative Action / Institut Canadien pour l'Action Législative
National Office:
P.O.Box 44030, 600 Grandview St. S. Oshawa, ON. L1H 8P4
Ph: (905) 571-2150 Fax: (905) 436-7721 e-mail: teebee@sprint.ca
Ottawa Office:
27 Cedar Grove Crt. Nepean, ON. K2G 0M4
Ph: (613) 828-8805 Fax: (613) 828-6967 e-mail: aldorans@magma.ca
Home: http://www.cila.org/
A proud member of the World Forum on the Future of Sport Shooting Activities / Forum du Monde sur le Futur d'Activités des Sports des Armes à Feu
Home > Research archive > 1999 > Brazil gun laws falter