Bolsonaro loosens gun laws in Brazil, which leads world in murders

President Jair Bolsonaro on Tuesday signed a decree making it easier for many Brazilians to own firearms, the first of many expected changes by the nascent administration to overhaul gun laws in the nation that leads the world in total homicides.

Bolsonaro signed the decree in a televised ceremony in the capital of Brasilia, arguing that it and other changes expected to be pushed in Congress would help people defend themselves. The far-right leader and former army captain, who won last year’s election on promises to crack down on crime, said citizens in Latin America’s biggest country have long made clear that they wanted to arm themselves.

“The people decided in favor of buying guns and ammunition and we can’t deny what the people wanted at that moment,” Bolsonaro said, referring to a 2005 referendum in which Brazilians voted against banning the manufacture and sale of guns.

The decree established a wide range of categories for gun-ownership qualification, and government officials said it was crafted to cover just about any citizen wanting a firearm. Prospective gun owners must still meet other requirements, such as not having a criminal record, taking a psychological exam, completing a course at a gun club, and being at least 25 years old.

Before the decree, the law stipulated that civilians who wanted to own a gun had to justify their reason.

Security experts have long argued that more guns will lead to increased violence.

For decades, Brazil has been the world leader in annual homicides. Last year, nearly 64,000 were killed, the majority by firearms.

Despite tight gun laws, arms are widely available. Drug traffickers in slums are commonly seen brandishing automatic weapons. Many guns possessed illegally begin as legal, and were then stolen from police or military personnel or sold by corrupt people in those institutions.