Brazil's new president issues decree saying that all Brazilians without a criminal conviction are entitled to firearms.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro. Reuters.

Brazil's new president Jair Bolsonaro has issued a decree saying that all Brazilians without a criminal conviction are entitled to buy and own firearms. Reuters. Brazil currently has strict gun control laws but Bolsonaro ran on a gun rights platform. Many of his supporters want guns for self defense due to Brazil's huge crime problem. Bolsonaro himself was famously stabbed during the campaign, and that was just one example of Brazil's violence. It is unclear how the new executive order will be implemented but Brazil's congress is already working on the laws. Brazilian gun manufacturers, such as Taurus, saw stock rallies on the news. 

My Comment:

A huge victory for gun rights in Brazil. Though I am American I support gun rights for all people, regardless of where they live. Looser gun laws in Brazil is a victory for people everywhere and I sincerely hope that other countries follow the lead of Brazil. 

Western news sources are kind of out to lunch on this story as you would think it would be a top headline. However most of the stories about Brazil right now are painting Bolsonaro as some kind of right wing boogeyman and are ignoring this victory for gun rights or painting it as a bad thing. 

I do think that the media is making it all about Bolsonaro while ignoring the people that elected him. Crime is a huge issue in Brazil and nobody else has offered much in the way of solutions. Gun ownership and supporting defensive use of guns may not be the perfect solution but it will probably save lives of people that would otherwise be killed or injured. Sure, more criminals will die but most will see that as a solution, not a problem. 

This situation should give hope to those of us who love in blue states or Europe were gun rights have been continuously eroded. Brazil basically didn't have gun rights but all it took was electing the right man to the presidency. It wouldn't take much for people in California, New York or anywhere in Europe to do the same thing. 

The problem is that it took Brazil turning into a crime ridden hellhole before the people of Brazil demanded change. The murder rate in Brazil is out of control. In 2016 it had 61,000 murders and a rate of 29.5 per 100,000. In the same year America had 17,000 murders and a rate of 5.4 per 100,00. That kind of crime problem is unthinkable in America and Europe and if we ever get to that point there would be the same kind of pressure to regain gun rights in the areas where they have been extinguished.  

Despite the obvious crime problem, I think there are other reasons for Brazilians to desire their gun rights. Though there is very little international news coverage, the Venezuela disaster could end up in war. Venezuela has very few ways out of it's economic quagmire and war might be one of the ways they do so. There is a real possibility of Venezuela invading their neighbor, Guyana, which would likely draw Brazil into the war. An armed populace would be small deterrence to any war with Venezuela. 

This is very good news for firearms manufactures in both Brazil, the United States and other countries with arms industries. Taurus is the obvious winner since they are based in Brazil, but other gun manufactures will benefit as well as a huge new market opens up. There are almost 200 million people in Brazil and if many of them buy guns it will be a huge boon for gun producers. 

Finally, I have to say that I wish Jair Bolsonaro well. He's a pretty cool guy and a "Trump" for South America. I knew he was going to win after he got stabbed and managed to continue campaigning. The fact that he has restored gun rights to millions of people is just amazing and I hope that the rest of his presidency is as big of a victory for Brazil.