Brasilia, June 28 (RHC)-- Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has announced that he was backing down from his weapons decree that sought to make firearms more readily available to the public. However, at the same time, he proposed three other pieces of legislation regarding gun access in Brazil, hoping they will be approved by the Congress.
Bolsonaro first proposed his decree last March. It would have allowed much of the public to own long-range rifles and high-powered weapons. Lawyers, bailiffs, owners and managers of shooting clubs, residents in rural areas, certain journalists and truck drivers, among others, would have been allowed to carry firearms in Brazil with shooting power never before allowed to civilians.
However, the measure became increasingly narrowed over the past several months after it was rejected by lawmakers. On Tuesday, to the surprise of even his own cabinet, Bolsonaro revoked the proposal -- only to propose several more decrees.
The Brazilian president has now sponsored three new decrees regarding firearms and their sales, which are meant to accommodate the Senate. With his original plan rejected by lawmakers, Bolsonaro said the news measures were "based on the questions raised before the judicial and legislative branches and society in general."
A member of the presidents administration, Onyx Lorenzoni, told reporters that the latest proposals on gun control address the issues of registration, possession and sale of firearms and ammunition in the country.
The president says he took legislators and governors critiques into consideration while working up the new measures that will still allow rural residents to possess hand guns.
According to official figures, Brazil recorded 65,602 homicides in 2017, an average of 31.6 violent deaths per 100,000 inhabitants -- one of the highest in the world.
