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Giveaways and commercial promotions with weapons and ammunition as gifts are prohibited by Decree 70 951, of August 1972, and by an ordinance of the Ministry of Economy published in 2020. This has not, however, prevented the practice from becoming more and more common, mainly by certified gun owners and shooting clubs on social networks such as Facebook or messaging applications such as Telegram and WhatsApp.
A quick internet search shows that there are different profiles involved with the practice. In addition to being illegal, these awards raise many doubts. Without adequate supervision, there is no guarantee that the winner and the promoter of the draw will follow the rules established by the legislation for the registration or transfer of weapons. Experts argue that these things are only done because they are certain that enforcement is flawed. The Army hasn’t even done the basics, which is knowing where weapons are located.
The giveaways wave comes on the heels of legal easing promoted by the government, which increased the number of weapons allowed to citizens. For certified gun owners alone, the changes made it possible for those with a certification to buy up to sixty weapons, thirty of which are restricted to use, such as rifles (previously, the limits were sixteen and eight, respectively). The increase in the number of citizens of this type armed is relevant, it went from 117,000 in 2018 to 674,000 this year (2022).
