Saturday, October 01, 2005

Guns under fire

It isn't a policy that we'd want to follow in full no matter what the outcome, but we should be watching closely the results from Brazil's proposed firearm ban:
(L)ater this month every citizen from 18 to 70 will confront a clear, yes-no question: Should the sale of all types of guns and ammunition be banned nationwide for everyone except the police and military?

The Oct. 23 referendum, in which all adults must participate (voting is optional for those over 70), will be the first time any country has taken a proposed gun ban to the national ballot. Brazil has the highest number of firearms fatalities in the world, with more than 36,000 people shot dead last year, according to government figures...

Supporters of a ban do not claim that outlawing the sale of guns and ammunition would put a stop to violence. Instead, they say the initial aim is to reduce the huge number of guns flooding the country of 186 million people. An estimated 17.5 million guns are currently in Brazil, about 90 percent in civilian hands and half of them illegal...

"In Rio alone, there's a gun stolen once every five hours," said Josephine Bourgois, an arms control researcher with Viva Rio, an anti-gun organization that conducted the analysis. "By reducing the overall number of guns in circulation, we'll be able to decrease the number that migrate from law-abiding citizens and end up in the hands of criminals."

For all the talk about the cost of Canada's gun registry, combined with the consisent pro-gun influence from the U.S., it's easy for Canadians to assume that gun ownership is a lot more desirable than may actually be the case. If Brazil's referendum passes, then we'll get to see whether a supply-side ban can actually reduce gun violence in a state with some important similarities: i.e. a large local supply of guns and a border which makes significant smuggling inevitable. If not, then we'll have a sound reason not to look at comparable action; if so, then the usual arguments against further gun control in Canada will look a lot less powerful.

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