Guns, Guns, and Guns.

I was reading this article, and I wanted to write a post pointing out all the ways in which this policy will fail.

The government is paying Brazilians to surrender their weapons in an effort to reduce the country's murder rate, one of the world's highest.
 
Then I realized this is probably not the entire policy to reduce the crime rate, and that we are only hearing about gun control.  So I then decided I would look into it.  Then I decided that why waste my time if I already knew I was going to find out there is just more than this policy at work.  So I just decided to write a post pointing out all the ways in which only this policy will fail.

While this policy will reduce the number of guns, I don't think it will reduce the number of killings.  It might reduce the number of killings by gun deaths, but the number of killings probably will not change much.  The number of gun deaths could increase because all the law abiding citizens don't have anymore guns because they turned them in.  

Secondly, if I was a criminal I would steal as many guns as possible from people (which in itself is tricky), and turn them in for cash (because for things like this policy to work they have to be no questions asked).

While you don't want criminals to have guns, having law abiding citizens who are properly trained own guns hurts no one (in the majority of cases).  In fact, it can only decrease crime.

Some parts of the law seem to not to make sense.

The new law prohibits the possession of firearms in public and raises the minimum age for gun ownership from 18 to 25.
 
Prohibiting firearms in public would seem like a normal law, though it does not address the problem of why people feel that they need to carry their guns around with them in public.  I think if the government addressed the need for personal security the new law would go into effect in a natural unspoken way, then a law could be passed later on when society has adjusted. 

To quote a deleted scene from the French connection where a young punk said he was clean, but had a switch blade knife on him.

"I would rather be caught with it, than with out it."

They seem to be putting the horse before the cart in this case.

 It also requires owners to register their guns with the ministries of defense and justice.

Registering guns is preferable to not having the ability to own them, though I would think that some guns are used for hunting.  This law would make sense if they are keeping track of all the guns which they register, comparing the guns form a crime secne to the database, and tracking all guns that are sold in the country (i don't know if they are doing that, are planing on doing that)


Well I hope that this thing works out for them.  I think a better policy would be a combination of stricter penalties, more and better armed police men, and legalization of concealed weapons.


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