In a victory for the bullet bench, the Chamber’s Constitution and Justice Committee (CCJ) approved, by 34 votes in favor and 30 against, a proposal that authorizes the states and the Federal District to legislate on the possession and carrying of firearms in some cases, such as personal defense, sports practices and control of invasive exotic animal species.
The text determines that the permits for possession or possession granted will only be valid locally and will only serve people who are proven to reside in the state. A condition was inserted in the text to allow these units of the Federation to mandatorily establish a weapons control system integrated into the National Public Security Information System (Sinesp), linked to the Ministry of Justice.
The project had strong support from deputies linked to the public security area. The president of the CCJ, deputy Caroline de Toni (PL-SC), is the author of the project, which can now be taken to the plenary for a vote. The government was against it. He understands that the proposal is unconstitutional because, according to his assessment, it is up to the Union to legislate on weapons.
“This project is manifestly unconstitutional. We will, of course, appeal to the Supreme Court (STF) and prevent a proposal like this from prospering. It is contrary to life and is at the service of violence. It is something evil”, said deputy Patrus Ananias (PT-MG ).
The project’s rapporteur, Delegate Paulo Bilynskyj (PL-SP) denied that the text is unconstitutional and criticized the opposition to the proposal.
“The left wants to prevent states from judging what is best for their inhabitants. It wants to monopolize in a single, communist entity what is good for the people, who have the right to protect themselves”, he stressed.
Representing the government in the voting guidelines, deputy Bacelar (PV-BA) disapproved the matter. In his opinion, parliamentarians linked to public security think that “the only remedy is extermination.”
“The only solution for them is the bullet. They are the same people who are horrified by social movements, who destroy the environment and who claim to be defenders of democracy. What’s wrong. They are separatists. They defend authoritarianism”, he said.
The parliamentarians who voted in favor of the project argued that it was a guarantee of personal defense. “The project simply gives the right to every responsible, law-abiding citizen, to be armed to defend, not only his life, that of his family, his heritage, even against the dictatorships that are being implemented in this country” , alleged Delegate Éder Mauro (PL-PA).
On the government side, deputy Rubens Pereira Júnior (PT-MA) highlighted that the Constitution does not give this right to the states and makes it clear that it is the exclusive competence of the Union to legislate on the matter.
“What the constitutional norm is saying: that, if authorized by Congress, the state governor can decide what type of weapon to buy for the police, can decide what type of military material to buy for firefighters, it is not saying that each state can practicing the general release”, he argued.
