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Brazilians Reject Proposed Gun Ban

Brazilians soundly rejected a proposal to ban the sale of guns in a national referendum Sunday, striking down the bid to stem one of the world's highest firearm murder rates following a campaign that drew parallels to the U.S. gun control debate.

With more than 92 percent of the votes counted, 64 percent of Brazilians were opposed to the ban, while 36 percent backed it, said election officials, giving the 'no' position an insurmountable lead. The proposal would have prohibited the sale of firearms and ammunition except for police, the military, some security guards, gun collectors and sports shooters.

There are a number of interesting ramifications and issues associated with this - aside from the primary fact that the Brazilians were not willing to cede full responsibility for personal protection to an all too ineffectual governmental system.

Some Brazilians said they resented the referendum because they feel the government is ducking its responsibility to keep the peace. "It's immoral for the government to have this vote," said Pedro Ricardo, an army officer in Sao Paulo. "They're putting the responsibility on us, but ... the way to cut down on violence is to combat the drug trade and patrol our borders."

Hmmmm. Sounds sort of familiar doesn't it!? Enforce borders? What a concept!

About 39,000 people in Brazil are killed by guns each year, compared to about 30,000 people in the United States, although the U.S. population is about 100 million more than Brazil's, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Hello? Come again? Does anybody know what the US Centers for Disease Control is doing collecting data on gun deaths in Brazil? One shudders to learn the answer.

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