Guess the majority of these folks chose protecting their own lives over relying on the Government. To bad they were not given the same referendum vote in 2003 that gave them the gun control law that is being fallen back to. But the people spoke with votes. They refused to be disarmed.
Brazilians Say 'Yes' to Guns
Referendum favors the buying/selling of guns and ammunition
On Oct. 23, 63.94 percent of Brazilians voted not to prohibit the legal buying and selling of guns and ammunition. The state that registered the largest number of "No" votes was Rio Grande do Sul, where more than 86 percent of the population remembered the importance of guns in a country where police cannot protect the entire population as well as it should.
©2005 Alexandre Mendez
In Rio de Janeiro, one of the most dangerous states devastated by organized crime and drug trafficking, the index was the same as national average: 38.1 percent favor the prohibition, 61.89 percent don't.
The Electoral Superior Court (TSE), released the first numbers last night around 8 p.m. local time, when all Brazil had finished the voting. Most states finished at 5 p.m., but because of differences in time zones, states as Acre and Amapa, in the extreme northwest of the country, could only enter their totals three hours after Brasilia, the nation's capital.
With a "No" victory, Brazil continues to work with the same rules established by the disarmament statute approved in December 2003. Every citizen who wants to own a gun must be older than 25. The applicant must declare and specify a genuine need for the weapon, must have a fixed residence, proof of a legal job, undergo a psychological test to prove he is mentally sound and obtain a Federal Justice certificate showing any previous criminal activities.
Only Brazilian federal policy authorizes the registering of a gun; it must be renewed every three years. To be caught carrying a gun illegally means the offender is unable to petition for bail.
Disarmament
The referendum was the first about this subject in the world. Through a process of voting very similar to the election of presidents and mayors, voters answered the following question: "Should the buying/selling of firearms and ammunition be forbidden in Brazil?"
According to law 10.826 that came into effect in December 2003, the buying and selling of firearms and ammunitions is forbidden in all national territory, with the exception of authorities that need the materials to preserve public order and their own lives as policemen. However, this disarmament law caused a strong response from the Brazilian weapons industry.
Research
During the previous week before the vote, two studies gauged public opinion about the referendum. According to the Todelo & Associados Institute, 52.1 percent of voters supported a "No." This means they did not want the prohibition of firearms in Brazil. On the other hand, 33.7 percent of people supported "Yes." Ibope, another research institute, showed a tie between both sides, with a little advantage of four percent for the "No" side.
Campaign
Two parliamentary groups created strategies to defend their viewpoints during the disarmament campaign. "Support a Brazil Without Guns" was the group in favor of prohibition, and on the other side, "Support the Right of Self Defense," showed the dangers citizens face living without a gun.
In the last month, 1,520 minutes of advertising by both groups aired on TV and radio. The strategies adopted argued that "guns are synonymous with death," while the "No" side said the police and government cannot protect people -- people must protect themselves.
The media appeal was very strong. The "Yes" side presented television actors and actresses to explain in advertisements the dangers of a fire arms. The biggest communication company in Brazil, Rede Globo, adhered clearly to "Yes." It could be detected in news content and even in soap opera dialogues. A kind of masked message could be assimilated by audiences.
Last week, a Web site specializing in media analysis called "Press Observatory," or "Observatorio de Imprensa," showed a poll done with its online users asking if the media tried to influence the vote: 87 percent admitted it had; only 13 percent said the opposite.
Situation on the Ground
If the winner of the referendum was the "Yes" side, Brazil could have become the first Latin American country to forbid the buying/selling of fire arms. Until now, this decision was adopted for countries in the first or developing worlds only.
Since 2002, a total of 112,629 guns were apprehended in Brazil. This number is the same as the total guns lost or stolen by citizens in home assaults or street robberies in the last five years.
Porto Alegre, Cuiaba, Vitoria, Sao Paulo e Aracaju are the most violent cities in Brazil. The most dangerous crime in these cities isn't homicide, but assault with guns. Last year, in Sao Paulo 25 murders were committed and more than two thousand robberies.
According a report done by International Amnesty, violence levels in Brazil can be compared to war zones in Israel and the Palestinian territories.
Ana Maria Brambilla is Brazilian journalist and communication researcher.
2005-10-23 00:14
©2005 OhmyNews
