The Minister of Institutional Relations, Alexandre Padilha, stated this Monday (2), in Brasília, that any change presented by the government regarding the control of access to firearms and the operation of shooting clubs will maintain the principle of combating the release of weapons in the country. Last week, after an agreement with the government, the project that would annul rules on weapons was removed from the voting agenda of the Federal Senate (photo).
“Any changes that may be made in the dialogue with the National Congress will seek to maintain these principles of combating the release of weapons that was done by the previous government and combating any type of insecurity for our children who are in schools and the culture of peace that we need to cultivate in our country. So, today, we will continue, together with the Ministry of Justice, together with the leaders of the Senate, to discuss the details in relation to this,” said Padilha after a political coordination meeting with President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, at the Planalto Palace.
The draft legislative decree (PDL) that was on the agenda nullifies parts of one of the decrees on weapons signed by President Lula in 2023, which increased the requirements for the use of weapons and the operation of clubs [de tiro]. The text, which came from the Chamber of Deputieswould be voted on Tuesday (27), but there was an agreement between parliamentarians and the government for a new presidential decree to be issued to correct some points of the decree in force.
Gaps
According to the government leader in the Senate, Jaques Wagner (PT-BA), simply repealing parts of the decree could create gaps in other points of the legislation. For this reason, issuing a new decree would be more appropriate.
One of the main points of the agreement is the resumption of authorization for shooting clubs to be located less than one kilometer away from educational institutions. The current decree prohibits this proximity, but the PDL rapporteur, Senator Vanderlan Cardoso (PSD-GO), noted that the change would harm several clubs. [de tiro] already established according to previous rules and, in its report, did away with this requirement.
The bill was presented on the grounds that the requirements of the presidential decree would make it impossible for gun collectors and sports shooters to engage in activities. The text would eliminate the requirement for sports shooters to participate in annual competitions with all the weapons they own and would allow the use of firearms for activities other than those declared at the time of purchase of the equipment.
Historical weapons
According to Minister Padilha, the discussions are aimed at improving the mechanism so as not to hinder the activities of sports practitioners and also for the acquisition and maintenance of historical weapons.
“For example, the original decree established that the National Institute of Historic and Artistic Heritage (Iphan) would have to be contacted in all situations. So, there is a proposal to allow other agencies to register these weapons that are considered historic. Historic weapons are decommissioned, while firearms cannot have ammunition, they have to be deactivated, there are rules on what constitutes recognizing a historic weapon,” he explained.
For Padilha, the discussion should be technical, but “without giving up the government’s absolute priority, which is to contain the release of weapons. A release of weapons that only fed criminals, only fed the criminal organizations in our country and put our children at risk.” [e] the culture of peace,” he added.
