Bolsonaro Revokes Prior Weapons Decree, Then Issues Three New Measures

By Arkady Petrov

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – President Jair Bolsonaro revoked his previous weapons decree on Tuesday, June 25th, but published three new decrees on the subject in a special edition of the Federal Gazette.

Chamber of Deputies President Rodrigo Maia said that the administration realized that the best way to proceed would be to submit a new bill to render the carrying and possession of weapons more flexible.

The move came a day before the Supreme Court was due to debate the constitutionality of the Decree that allowed millions of Brazilians to carry loaded weapons in public, which the Senate rejected last week.

Earlier, the spokesman for the Presidency of the Republic, Otávio Rêgo Barros, had stated that Bolsonaro would not revoke the contested arms decree in Congress nor would he “hinder” legislators to vote on the issue.

“The government will not revoke and will not put any obstacles in the way of voting in the National Congress,” he said when asked about the likelihood of the bill being revoked so that another specific decree for collectors, marksmen, and hunters (CACs) could be issued.

Bolsonaro first announced the decree in May, enabling a wide range of professionals, including truckers, politicians, hunters and even some journalists, to carry weapons without having to prove why they needed them.

Weeks later he revised the original order to restrict “common citizens” to carrying handguns but not rifles in public.

The original decree also allowed licensed gun owners to buy up to 5,000 rounds of ammunition a year, depending on the type of weapon, compared with the current limit of 50.

But it faced strong opposition, even from governors in states with high rates of violence who argued the order failed to improve security.

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