Brasilia, May 8 (RHC)-- Brazil’s far-right President Jair Bolsonaro has signed a decree relaxing rules of carrying weapons for collectors, hunters and sports shooters, known by the acronym CAC.

Last week, the spokesman of the president General Otavio Rego Barros announced that Bolsonaro was preparing the decree.  Barros said the far-right president had been planning to allow the transportation of loaded weapons for CAC, especially for the sport shooters from their house to the shooting stand.

The carrying of weapons for sport shooters had already been made flexible in March 2017.  Currently, other CACs must carry unloaded weapons so that it cannot be readily used on the street to fire.

The President of Brazilian Forum for Public Security, Renato Sergio de Lima said the presidential decree would be a step towards the legalization of the possession of weapons in the country.  He also said the decree can be questioned in court because it violates the spirit of control provided in the Disarmament Statute.

The arsenal and granting of records for hunters, sport shooters and firearm collectors increased 879% in the period, from 2014 (8,988) to 2018 (87,989). Currently, there are 255,402 active licenses in Brazil.  The number of weapons in the hands of this group is 350,683 units.