Brazilian voters shoot down ban on gun sales
Date: Oct 24, 2005 7:50 AM
PUBLICATION: The Ottawa Citizen
DATE: 2005.10.24
EDITION: Final
SECTION: News
PAGE: A6
SOURCE: The Associated Press
DATELINE: RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil
WORD COUNT: 240

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Brazilian voters shoot down ban on gun sales

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RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – Brazilians soundly rejected a proposal to ban
guns in a national referendum yesterday, striking down the bid to stem
one of the world’s highest firearm murder rates following a campaign
that drew parallels to the U.S. gun control debate.

With more than 95 per cent of the votes counted yesterday, 64 per cent
of voters were opposed to the ban, while 36 per cent backed it, said
officials at the Supreme Electoral Court, giving the No position an
insurmountable lead.

Brazil has 100 million fewer citizens than the U.S., but a staggering 25
per cent more gun deaths, at nearly 40,000 a year. While supporters
argued that gun control was the best way to staunch the violence,
opponents played on Brazilians’ fears the police can’t protect them.

An estimated 120 million Brazilians cast ballots in the referendum.
Voting is mandatory for people between ages 18 and 70, but Brazilians as
young as 16 can vote.

If it had passed, the referendum would have prohibited the sale of
firearms and ammunition except for police, the military, some security
guards, gun collectors and sports shooters.

It would complement a 2003 disarmament law that restricts who can
legally buy firearms and carry guns in the street.

That law, coupled with a government-sponsored gun buyback program, has
reduced deaths from firearms by about eight per cent this year, the
health ministry said.

According to UNESCO, Brazil ranks second worldwide in deaths by guns,
with 21.72 per 100,000 people a year. Venezuela has 34.3 gun deaths per
100,000.