The impact Brazilian gun control laws have nationally and internationally

I was born in São Paulo, Brazil, a city of fear and chaos, where one’s safety is under constant attack. Growing up, bullet proof cars, murders and increasing crime rates were normalized. It wasn’t until I had the privilege of moving to the United States and then France that I understood that what I experienced growing up was not the norme. This realization has motivated me to research core issues that can be tackled in order to help create real positive change. Brazil has the highest homicide rate in the world, with around 55000 innocent lives being taken away yearly. After losing a loved one to gun violence, I wanted to explore the engines behind this topic. The laws surrounding firearms have always been relatively strict, which sparked the start of illegal gun trafficking and smuggling from other countries into Brazil, making it also a global issue. Some argue that Brazil needs to introduce looser gun control laws that would allow citizens to protect themselves and for the illegal market to decrease; however, I argue that Brazil needs to have strict gun control policies while working together with other countries to tackle the issue.

For historical background, in 2003, the Brazilian president at the time Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva wanted to decrease crime rates so he introduced a stricter gun control law titled ‘Lei do desarmamento’. Changes included stronger background checks, introduction of physiological exams, civilians not being allowed to carry their weapons in the streets, increased gun taxation, and he also raised the minimum age to 21. Overall, citizens were pleased with the changes, and when analysing it I believe that the added steps assures that those who purchase the guns are only going to use it for protection. However, simultaneously the illegal gun market grew exponentially, an estimated 35% since the start of Lei do desarmamento. Brazil actually manufactures a lot of guns as exports for economic growth, 80% of the produced firearms are exported to the United States. Guns are purchased in the US, pass through a third country — most commonly Paraguai — and end up being illegally smuggled back into Brazil. They arrive in Brazil through the mafia and the black market, meaning that most likely those who have access to these guns are not going to use them only for protection. This has caused a lot of conflict and chaos in South American countries. When focusing on Brazil, despite there being strict gun control in Sao Paulo every year there are around 100000 home break ins and the economy is also deeply affected. The Brazilian government in 2018 determined that the economic burden of violence was at around $77 billion per year, more than 4 percent of the country’s GDP. All in all, Lula tried decreasing crime rates however the opposite was accomplished, as his law encourages illegal activities which eventually lead to a global problem.

It might not be evident at first, but the decisions made in Brazil have impacted all the neighboring countries. Latin America has become one of the most dangerous regions in the world. A study revealed that 47 out of the world’s 50 most dangerous cities are in South America. The homicide rate in Latin countries is on average 28 per 100000, whereas the global average is around 7 per 100000. With illegal gun trafficking comes drugs, organized cartels, the black market, violence and the mafia which only negatively contributes to all of these countries. There is no way to calculate the amount of damage caused by illegal gun trafficking as there are so many factors. It contributes to economic struggles making it harder for countries to develop, increased crime rates and fuels the mafia and drug cartels. 250000 people have collectively died in 2020 in South America from homicides, this number could be much lower if illegal guns were under control. In my opinion the largest impact this illegal market has had is the constant fear that all citizens now have of being robbed or killed. I would argue that in that way everyone has been affected, and it is something that desperately needs to change. Not knowing if something will happen to your family or if everyone will return safely is the worst feeling in the world.

I believe that this is one of the most urgent issues, and should be a priority. When analysing the situation, it has become clear that if only Brazil implements strict laws there will be no clear progress, as criminals will search for illegal guns. As previously mentioned, the smuggling of illegal guns is happening all around North and South America, so this can only be solved if we come together. Some would argue that a simple way of tackling this problem would be to loosen gun control laws in Brazil.

The current Brazilian president, Jair Bolsonaro, graduated from Agulhas Negras Military Academy and was part of the army’s field artillery and parachutist unit, so he has very strong opinions surrounding gun control. He believes that citizens should have the right to protect themselves and that loosening laws will decrease the number of illegal firearms. He introduced a new law titled ‘Decreto pró-Armas’ which has made firearms accessible to a larger public and much easier to purchase. Some of the changes include allowing multiple different professions to carry weapons with them, looser background tests, no psychological test and citizens can own up to 6 weapons. With the changes made an estimated 19 million additional people can now carry firearms on the streets, and the number of citizens who will own guns are expected to triple. This was just put into place in april of 2021. I understand why Bolsonaro wanted to make firearms more accessible to the public, it allows for citizens to protect themselves and their families as well as it helps decrease the smuggling of illegal firearms into the country. However, there are studies and data that prove that making gun laws looser only aggravates death rates. When Bolsonaro first announced Decreto pró-Armas 64% of the citizens were against it, and experts claimed that the measures were unconstitutional. All in all, from the surface it makes sense that by making it easier to purchase guns, there will be a lower demand for illegal guns, decreasing the impacts of the illegal gun market; however, there are many negative consequences that come with it.

Additional research shows that a 1% rise in firearm availability increases the homicide rate by 2 percent and that Brazilian households with firearms had 44 percent higher risk of homicide than those without. The law was put into place too recently for there to be clear data points of how it has impacted the country, however it has already been made clear by datafolha that homicide rates are not decreasing in 2021. The research done by professionals already indicates that the solution to the massive global issue is not loosening gun control laws. Personally, the thought of citizens carrying guns in the streets of Sao Paulo atterorize me. Additionally, citizens being able to own up to 6 guns, in my opinion, is ridiculous and increases the chances of the gun ending up in the wrong hands. There is already so much crime and fear, and personally these changes made by Bolsonaro only aggravates the existing issues. It is still too soon to draw conclusions but there are many ways in which Decreto pró-Armas will lead to negative consequences. Lastly, if it becomes too easy to buy guns in Brazil, soon criminals will start illegally smuggling them into other countries, causing greater global disaster. All in all, I believe that loosening gun control is not the solution and will have both national and international impacts.

After analysing what has happened over the past few years not only in Brazil but also in South America, I realized that this is an interconnected issue that needs to be tackled internationally. It is no longer sufficient for Brazil to introduce stricter rules, other countries need to as well. My first suggestion would be for South and North American countries to come together and develop a new gun control law that they could all implement. That way if it is equally as hard to purchase a gun in all the countries, there would be no reason for smuggling. The problem is, let’s suppose Brazil makes it harder to purchase guns but the United States doesn’t, then there will be illegal smuggling which only causes additional harm. Therefore, all countries need to be on the same page. A country that successfully controlled gun crime is Japan, in 2014 there were only 6 gun deaths — therefore, countries could learn from them. You need to show patience and determination. There are classes, a written exam, shooting-range test, mental health and drug test, your and your family’s criminal record are examined, and your license expires after 3 years. If all countries adopted a similar model to Japan’s, way less people would purchase guns making it harder to illegally trade. My second suggestion would entail less guns being produced, which will allow for the elimination of stockpiles and surplus. Less guns in the world most likely means that there will be less crime. My last suggestion would be for the government to start collecting guns. If fewer guns are being produced, it’s harder to purchase them, we eliminate a lot of the surplus and the stockpiles, and then also start collecting guns the number will decrease significantly. Both England and Australia encouraged citizens to turn in guns and exchange it for money. All in all, I believe that if these actions are taken it would be a step towards the right direction.

My family has personally been affected by gun violence, so I wanted to do something to make a real concrete difference. I decided to write a letter directed to Jair Bolsonaro, where I shared my story, my concerns, acknowledged the positive changes he has made, explained why things needed to change and how they could be changed. I created an account on GovBr where you can send direct messages to the president and sent him the letter. Additionally, I also sent an email to Anderson Torres, the Minister of Justice and Public Safety. I have not yet received a response from either, I will wait some time but also start looking for other email addresses to voice my concerns and opinion. Additionally, I spoke with BRASA, the brazilian association at USC, to work with their members to spread awareness in the United States but also Brazil. Together, we want to see who we can reach in Brazil but also publish articles on the daily trojan to bring awareness to the injustices that are happening in South America.

In conclusion, I believe that we have reached a point where decisions can no longer be taken nationally, especially as all issues are interconnected, and a country’s decision will automatically affect others. This is the type of situation where there is no overnight solution, so the only thing that can be truly done is work together to decrease the number of firearms circulating the world and implement ways in which it is a lot harder to smuggle illegal substances or objects across borders. It became clear that if Brazil works alone not much can be accomplished, because if they loosen the law there will be even more guns circulating which will probably lead to higher crime rates, and if they make the law stricter, there will be more illegal trade which has a lot of additional consequences. I think that guns in general are part of many core issues faced by many Latin countries. As mentioned it is a factor that is stopping many countries from developing, because of the economic and social impact it has.