By 34 votes to 30, the Constitution, Justice and Citizenship Committee of the Chamber of Deputies approved the complementary bill (PLP) 108/2023, which grants powers to states to formulate laws and relax the current rules on carrying weapons. The project goes against the understanding of recent decisions by the Supreme Federal Court (SFT) on the carrying of weapons and concerns the government of President Lula (PT).
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Since 2023
Authored by the commission’s president, Deputy Caroline de Toni (PL-SC), the proposal was presented in 2023, after the PT government reversed part of the flexibility in access to weapons promoted by former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL).
Proposed Changes
The approved project grants the state authority to legislate on topics related to carrying and possession of firearms, both for personal defense purposes, as well as for sports and control of invasive exotic fauna. The matter also determines that authorizations granted by the state will only be valid in the territorial space of the federation unit itself. The text also says that the state must issue the rule, which will be assessed by the state Legislature, regulating authorizations related to firearms.
Actions in the STF
The STF is currently analyzing nine Direct Actions of Unconstitutionality and one Allegation of Non-compliance with Fundamental Precepts against state and municipal laws on the carrying of weapons. The actions question laws on collectors, shooters, and hunters and guarantee possession to professionals such as public defenders, security guards, and socio-educational security agents. In recent months, the court has already overturned two actions by defining that it is only up to the federal government to legislate on weapons.
Analysis:
Allowing the states to adopt different regulations on weapons is unconstitutional, promotes instability, hinders inspection carried out by the Federal Police and Army, and disrupts daily policing, as each state would have different rules. This diversity of rules also makes life easier for organized crime, which may exploit states with flexible rules to obtain more weapons. Research by the Sou da Paz Institute using official data has already identified that, in the state of São Paulo between 2011 and 2020, nine legal weapons were diverted daily to the criminal market.
Replicating the United States model, the project attempts to import the lack of uniformity into a rule with criminal and inspection implications. Even in the US, this difference poses threats to national security. A report from the American regulatory agency, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, showed that 85% of weapons registered in the country were from states with easier access in 2015, places that were also the source of the theft or loss of 100,000 weapons that year.
Recently, Brazil has experienced instability in the rules on weapons and ammunition, with the publication of more than 40 rules in the four years of the Jair Bolsonaro government.
