Opposition will try to reverse points of Lula’s anti-gun decree

In an interview with Videocast Capital Matterfrom the People’s Gazette, Deputy Alberto Fraga (PL-DF) said that the opposition parliamentarians will try to negotiate with the government the reversal of four points of the anti-gun decree of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT), edited last July 21, with new rules for possession, carrying and sale of firearms in the country.

Fraga said that four points of the current decree are questionable and could be reversed, as the deputies want: calibers considered for restricted use, such as the 9 millimeter; habituality, necessary for collectors, shooters and hunters (CACs) to be able to renew the registration of weapons; the minimum distance from shooting clubs to schools; and the transfer of gun registrations to the Federal Police.

The parliamentarian pointed out that the restriction of calibers will cause a lot of damage to the arms industry. According to Fraga, in addition to moving billions of reais per year, the industry is responsible for generating thousands of jobs.

Another crucial point for security deputies deals with the transfer of competence from the Army to the Federal Police to register weapons. Fraga guarantees that the PF does not have the structure for this, and he stressed that the issue of gun registration is provided for by law, and therefore cannot be overturned by a decree.

Regarding the regularity, the deputy said that, the way it is in the text, it is unfeasible. He explained that to prove the habituality and renew the registration of weapons, it will be necessary to participate in four competitions for each weapon that the person has.

“You have 20 guns, can you imagine? You will not work, you will live to compete”, said the deputy. He defended that the habituality be made by competitor, and not by number of guns.

The minimum distance of one kilometer from schools – established in the decree – should also be questioned. For the parliamentarian, there are very small cities that have more than one shooting club, which prevents the establishment of distance provided for in the new decree.

If the negotiations do not advance, deputy Alberto Fraga told the Capital Matter that the alternative will be to vote on the Draft Legislative Decree presented by Deputy Paulo Bilynskyj (PL-SP), which has the support of approximately 50 deputies from the Commission for Public Security and Combating Organized Crime, to overturn the federal government’s decree.

Specialist in Public Policy Fidelis Fantin also participated in the subject Capital this Wednesday (02) and reiterated that “there is no solid evidence in studies that regulating or hindering access to weapons improves the level of security. In general, the use of firearms by citizens brings a higher level of security and less violence in all types of crimes”.

The Minister of Justice, Flávio Dino, was summoned again by the members of the Security Commission to explain the new anti-gun decree. The date has not yet been set, but the expectation is that it will still be in August.

Capital Matter

Capital Matter is a videocast transmitted live from Brasilia, where journalists from People’s Gazette talk in a relaxed way with parliamentarians, members of the Executive and analysts about the hottest political issues of the week. The show airs on Wednesdays at 8pm.

>> Watch previous editions of the Subject Capital program.