Lula’s decree may make shooting practice unfeasible in Brazil

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s (PT) new gun decree also had a negative impact on athletes and sport shooters in Brazil. By limiting access to weapons and ammunition, the regulation makes training for national and international competitions unfeasible.

Under the regulations of former President Jair Bolsonaro (PL), shooting practitioners, whether practical or Olympic shooting, were entitled to 60 guns, 30 of which were restricted caliber; up to 1,000 ammunition per restricted-use weapon per year (30,000 per year in total); 5,000 rounds per permitted weapon per year (150,000 per year in total).

But the text signed by Lula on July 21 establishes restrictions for shooters and resumes the classification of each shooter in three levels. Check the changes:

Marksman Level 1

• Eight training sessions or competitions in a shooting club, in different events.
• Up to 4 permitted firearms;
• Up to 4,000 cartridges per year;
• Up to 8,000 .22 LR or SHORT cartridges per year.

Marksman Level 2

• Twelve training sessions at a shooting club and four competitions, two of which are state, regional or national, every twelve months.
• Up to 8 permitted firearms;
• Up to 10,000 cartridges per year;
• Up to 16,000 rounds per year .22 LR or SHORT.

Marksman Level 3

• Twenty training courses in a shooting club and six competitions, two of which were national or international, in a period of twelve months.
• Up to 16 firearms, 12 of which are permitted and up to 4 are restricted*;
• – Up to 20,000 cartridges per year;
• – Up to 32,000 cartridges per year .22 LR or SHORT.

To limit citizens’ access to weapons, Lula’s decree established that weapons whose barrels release energy above 407 joules will be considered for restricted use. The limitation included calibers used in shooting practice, such as 9 mm (629.81 joules), 38 Super (569.23 joules), .40 S&W (666.25 joules) and 45 ACP (755.15 joules). The amount of joules for each weapon was defined in Ordinance 1,222/2019 of the Ministry of Defense.

In the view of specialists on the subject, the government made sport shooting unfeasible in the country. Competitions that use restricted calibers can be harmed and athletes are unable to develop their training. The loss of competitiveness in relation to other countries is also inevitable in the current scenario.

The first Olympic medal won by Brazil was in shooting, at the Antwerp Olympics in 1920.

“All precision shooting events use calibers that have become restricted. Now you will only be able to practice who reaches ‘Olimpo’, which is level 3. For IPSC modalities [sigla em inglês da confederação internacional de tiro prático, que simula um confronto armado], which is also a modality that has worldwide, any competition only uses calibers that are now restricted. Any shooter who is starting out in practical shooting, who wants to shoot competitively, he needs to be level 3 because all calibers, such as 9mm and .45 are restricted”, says the writer, public safety analyst and weapons and ammunition specialist. Benedito Barbosa, known as Bene Barbosa, who is also the author of the book Lied to Me About Disarmament.

He adds: “It will be much more expensive and bureaucratic. I believe that more than 80% of shooters will give up sport shooting because of these difficulties”.

With the limitation on calibers, shooting practitioners will be forced to train with caliber .380, which is still considered permitted use. On the other hand, industry sources point out that this type of weapon is not used in international competitions, which will make it difficult for practitioners to train.

There are several types of sport shooting. Some of them simulate confrontations and value the shooter’s ability to move on foot along a route shooting at designated targets, usually using revolvers and pistols.

Others are those known from Olympic competitions, where the shooter remains stationary shooting at static targets, with pistols and carbines, or mobile – plates launched in the air that are hit with shotgun fire.

Lawyer André Pirajá, president of the Rural Producers for Freedom movement, also understands that shooting will be hampered by Lula’s regulations. He commented that the division of shooters into levels imposes a barrier to the growth of athletes and practitioners of the modality.

“If you analyze the Brazilian Confederation of Practical Shooting, it is a member of IPSC, which is an international shooting modality. IPSC does not have caliber 380 as it starts at 9mm. I see an absence of competitiveness, based on the premise that Law 9.615/1998 stipulates the democratization of sport. In order to have this democratization, everyone must have access to the same calibers. If you create a division where 9mm is restricted caliber and only level three can access it, you are not being equitable. I mean, can only level three shooters participate in the IPSC?”, says the lawyer.

He adds by reflecting on the different treatment of sport shooting in winning countries in the sport, such as the United States.

“This caliber limitation aims to remove Brazil from training new athletes. Why do we produce so much football player? Because it’s only when you place a ball in a dirt space that you produce the player. Why does the United States have so many shooting athletes?” says Pirajá.

Entity points out unfeasibility of shooting practice

The report spoke with the president of the Brazilian Practical Shooting Confederation (CBTP), Hwaskar Fagundes, and asked about the impact of the new limitations on the sport. For Hwaskar, the decree could paralyze the Brazilian IPSC Championship.

“Brazil today is the country that has the highest number of presidential medals. The IPSC, last year, ranked us in first place. Ranking is on top of Presidential Medals and Tier 3 Championship Achievements, which are big. There is a ranking of countries. We have one of the biggest delegations in the championship. With this decree, we are left with a fearful situation”, says the representative of the entity.

He also claims that the text signed by Lula brings legal uncertainty to athletes who want to compete.

“Today we have a series of legal insecurities. I mean, the athlete performed all the correct, legal procedure, and today we don’t have an orientation if what was before the decree is valid or not. According to the decree, the Traffic Guide that we used is no longer valid, but we are having difficulty issuing a new guide. Then the athlete who was regular, becomes irregular. We are having a very big difficulty in terms of regulation. There are some points that can be interpreted, generate doubts and make it difficult for us to understand”, he adds.

Commenting on the limitation of calibers, Hwaskar states that “depending on the regulations that come”, the subsequent regulations signed by the government may “definitely paralyze the Brazilian championship”.

“The 9m and 12 gauge are the most popular gauges in our sport and will have a direct impact. We also have the .40 and 45. It is important to say that the 380 does not have international recognition and the smallest caliber for competition is the 9m. We have sponsored athletes who receive a much larger volume of 6,000 ammunition. We have to analyze how it will be”, says Fagundes.

The representative of the Brazilian Practical Shooting Confederation also informed that he is looking for the government to discuss an alternative to what was established by the decree.

“We are insistently, since the decree came out, requesting an emergency meeting with the Civil House, the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Defense, so that we can understand how this will be handled, since at the moment we are being harmed”, he said.

“We understand that the government needs to regulate and we agree that there need to be limitations. We are not against it, because the sport has been around for over 30 years. He was not born in the Bolsonaro government. We have always lived very well with all the rules. Of course, workable rules, ”he says.