BRASILIA, Feb 2 (NNN-PRENSA LATINA) — The Brazilian Ministry of Justice on Wednesday set a 60-day deadline so that the owners of licensed or restricted-use weapons can register those war devices in a method administered by the Federal Police (PF).
The registrations will be virtual and centralized in the National Weapons System (SINARM), for which the PF is responsible.
Published in the Official Daily and signed by Justice Minister Flavio Dino, the decision aims to strengthen control over the illegal use of firearms and follows the stipulations made by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in a decree signed a month ago when he took office.
The Government wants to concentrate in the SINARM all firearms held by the population, including those registered by hunters, shooters, and collectors (CACs) that the Army currently controls.
After the deadline expires, whoever fails to register firearms may have them confiscated and be liable for the crimes of illegal carrying and possession of firearms, as the 2003 Disarmament Statute establishes.
The number of firearms in private hands grew 241% in Brazil during the government of former President Jair Bolsonaro, according to data from the Brazilian Public Security Yearbook.
In 2019, the year the far-right leader came to power, there were 197,390 registered firearms in the hands of private individuals, a number that by June 30, 2022 shot up to 673,818 registrations. — NNN-PRENSA LATINA
