brazil

[taliv]

http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-news-from-elsewhere-27373457

i found this article interesting. the headline is "police warn visitors: don't scream if robbed at gunpoint"

Brazilian police have put together a pamphlet of top tips for staying safe during the World Cup next month, with suggestions such as making sure not to scream if someone tries to rob you, it is reported.

"Do not react, scream or argue," says the brochure, which will be handed out by Brazilian embassies and consulates, Estadao de Sao Paulo newspaper reports. Sao Paulo police, who reportedly put together the document, are aiming their security tips at football fans planning to attend the World Cup tournament that kicks off in June.

The idea is apparently to warn visitors not to provoke robbers into further violence, and avoid the increasingly common crime of "latrocinios" - or robbery that ends in murder. "Tourists come mainly from Europe and the United States, where they do not see this crime very often," says Mario Leite, who is in charge of World Cup security in Sao Paulo.

Tourists are also advised not to flaunt valuable objects that might attract robbers, to be careful at night, make sure they are with other people and to check nobody is following them. The guidelines might sound extreme, but police officer Mario Leite says they are there to deal with realities on the ground. "There is no use crying over spilt milk," he says.

Brazil has one of the world's highest murder rates. In 2012, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime said 25.2 people are killed per 100,000 population.

pretty interesting so I decided to look up brazil's gun laws. this is from the wikipedia page

In 2005, a referendum was held in Brazil in an attempt to forbid the sale of firearms and ammunition nationwide. According to the Brazilian constitution, every citizen has the right to self-defense and the pro-gun campaigners focused their arguments around this constitutional right, as well as making economic arguments.[citation needed]

A decisive argument made by the pro-gun campaigners was to question the morality of the government removing a right from its citizens, resulting in a strong feeling among voters that no rights should ever be allowed to be taken away by the government.[7] Also, there were debates about the significant cultural status of gun ownership in the southern states of the country.

Another major argument used by the pro-gun ownership campaigners was the fact that the absolute majority of the gun crimes in Brazil were committed with unregistered and illegal guns, specially high caliber guns, that were already forbidden in Brazil and due to that, it would be of no use to forbid law-abiding citizens to own legal registered guns in accordance to the law. This argument was strongly reinforced by the fact that the regions where gun ownership is widespread were the ones with the smallest number of gun-related deaths. In the South region where there is the highest number of legal guns per citizen only 59% of all murders were caused by firearms in contrast to 70% in the Northeast where there is the lowest number of legal firearms per citizen.[8]

The anti-gun proponents argued that guns are dangerous for society and that their only reason to exist is to harm others.

The anti-gun campaign received widespread support from several famous actors, musicians and other Brazilian celebrities and a noticeable support from the nation's main TV station, Rede Globo.

The result of the referendum ended with a victory of those against the gun-ban, with over 63% of the voters opposed.[9] Although the Brazilian Government, the Catholic Church, and the United Nations, argued in favor of a gun ban, it was argued successfully that guns are needed for personal security.[1]

Apparently, the NRA was also involved and "Voting was compulsory for people between the ages of 18 and 70". Pretty cool to see that.

"The total number of firearms in Brazil is thought to be around 17 million[2] with 9 million of those being unregistered."


so really, the main difference between the US and Brazil is demographics, with Brazil having more poor.

 

[Ryanxia]

Good information, very interesting. I'm glad other parts of the world are still fighting for their Freedom as well.

 

[mrvco]

Brazil has some very fundamental problems, not the least of which is a relatively small elite class that is desperate to keep a large incredibly poor class in a state of perpetual destitution by any means necessary... turning a blind eye to whatever tactics their domestic military / police state deems necessary.

 

[DeadMoneyDrew]

I spent significant tune in Brazil a decade ago, and although at that time I wasn't much into firearms yet, I didn't encounter any thing that I would interpret as being anti gone. The Brazilian people are very outgoing and are into outdoor activities, so sport shooting might be something that would appeal to them.

The advice in the article posted by the OP on how to deal with a robbery in Brazil is spot on. Brazil is a beautiful country full of wonderful people, but the crime rate is high to the point of absurdity.

 

[taliv]

i was there 2 years ago. living conditions for the poor were pretty shocking. didn't really have an opportunity to explore their gun culture.

 

[Red Wind]

My best friend went to Rio at least 50 times between 1988 and 2003 on business. He said he was lucky ,he was only robbed at gunpoint twice.

My cousin from New Jersey went there once in 1998 on vacation. On his second day, he was robbed at gunpoint in a Rio park, stripped of his camera,wallet, passport ,all but the shirt off his back.

It took him 2 days at the US Embassy to get a renewed passport. At Rio Police HQ, he was in a line with dozens, reporting their woes and sorrows due to holdups. Needless to say, he has never returned.

 

[Sam Cade]

Although the Brazilian Government, the Catholic Church, and the United Nations, argued in favor of a gun ban, it was argued successfully that guns are needed for personal security.

..and in the US as well.

http://www.usccb.org/issues-and-act...ony-Proposals-to-Reduce-Gun-Violence-2013.pdf



http://www.usccb.org/
http://ncronline.org/news/politics/pro-gun-catholics-clash-bishops-desire-firearm-regulation

 

[Nom de Forum]

Brazil has some very fundamental problems, not the least of which is a relatively small elite class that is desperate to keep a large incredibly poor class in a state of perpetual destitution by any means necessary... turning a blind eye to whatever tactics their domestic military / police state deems necessary.

I once thought that type of problem could never be a possibility in the United States. I am not so sure anymore. We are certainly moving toward the problem by having a small elite class that is rapidly gaining power and all other people rapidly losing power. We are back to "The Gilded Age of the 1890's" level of economic power distribution in our society. Will the small elite class gain so much power that they effectively ban purchase of firearms and ammunition for most people because they have the economic power to do so? If firearms and ammunition become too expensive for most people to buy it has the same effect as a ban. Will only a small group remain able to afford firearms and ammunition from exclusive makers and most firearms manufacturers go out of business? Will the small elite class use its power to continue to isolate itself from the masses with walled off private communities that not only include homes but shopping centers that only residents may use? Will they use the law and new laws to have the military and police enforce the exclusion of the masses from their privately owned self-sufficient communities? Will this happen by the end of the 21st century if current economic trends continue? We may be currently winning the fight to have the right to keep and bear arms but what good is that if in the near future most of us cannot afford to do so or cannot find a place to purchase arms?

 

[oneounceload]

It isn't the small elite class, it is all of the lower-income groups that believe one side will give them everything they need and they vote for those folks. Those folks know that to keep their power, they must not allow armed folks who could rise up. The votes have been bought.

Remember, a government big enough to give you everything you want is also big enough to take everything you have.....

 

[Grassman]

It isn't the small elite class, it is all of the lower-income groups that believe one side will give them everything they need and they vote for those folks. Those folks know that to keep their power, they must not allow armed folks who could rise up. The votes have been bought.

Remember, a government big enough to give you everything you want is also big enough to take everything you have.....

Sounds familiar.....

 

[Nom de Forum]

It isn't the small elite class, it is all of the lower-income groups that believe one side will give them everything they need and they vote for those folks. Those folks know that to keep their power, they must not allow armed folks who could rise up. The votes have been bought.

Remember, a government big enough to give you everything you want is also big enough to take everything you have.....

It will be a small elite class that controls that "government big enough to give you everything you want is also big enough to take everything you have". They will reduce your wants to what were once taken for granted as necessities and gradually make you think you are lucky to have them at all.

 

[BSA1]

The Olympics in 2016 are shaping up to be a disaster also. Brazil has only completed 10% of the construction for the events and at this stage they should have 40% of it done. The situation is so bad the Oylmpic Committee has started looking for another country to hold the games in.

 

[Agsalaska]

You could not pay me enough money to go to Brazil for the world cup or the olympics.

 

[CountGlockulla]

What's dumb is that they restrict which calibers are allowed based upon muzzle energy. It amounts to the only viable options being .380 & .38 spcl.

 

[Red Wind]

^ Yeah, there are not very many sharp tools in the National Shed there.

 

[RetiredUSNChief]

I've been to Salvador, Brazil for a couple port calls during the Unitas 96 deployment. Beautiful place.

Seems to me that the article is somewhat lacking on the far more important aspect of personal safety: namely that there is safety in numbers, among other things.

Going out on liberty in a foreign port without a buddy could very easily be listed as number 1 on the list of "where did things go wrong" that people like to make up after some sort of incident, like a mugging.

DON'T go anywhere alone! Throw in all kinds of other safety oriented ideas you want out there, but this should be at the top of the list.

 

[Coyote3855]

I once thought that type of problem could never be a possibility in the United States. I am not so sure anymore. We are certainly moving toward the problem by having a small elite class that is rapidly gaining power and all other people rapidly losing power. We are back to "The Gilded Age of the 1890's" level of economic power distribution in our society. Will the small elite class gain so much power that they effectively ban purchase of firearms and ammunition for most people because they have the economic power to do so? If firearms and ammunition become too expensive for most people to buy it has the same effect as a ban. Will only a small group remain able to afford firearms and ammunition from exclusive makers and most firearms manufacturers go out of business? Will the small elite class use its power to continue to isolate itself from the masses with walled off private communities that not only include homes but shopping centers that only residents may use? Will they use the law and new laws to have the military and police enforce the exclusion of the masses from their privately owned self-sufficient communities? Will this happen by the end of the 21st century if current economic trends continue? We may be currently winning the fight to have the right to keep and bear arms but what good is that if in the near future most of us cannot afford to do so or cannot find a place to purchase arms?

Well said, I agree completely.

 

[oneounceload]

It will be a small elite class that controls that "government big enough to give you everything you want is also big enough to take everything you have". They will reduce your wants to what were once taken for granted as necessities and gradually make you think you are lucky to have them at all.

There is a concerted political group that controls the masses via the "free" giveaways paid for by those who actually work and produce something. The huge mass of folks, both legal and illegal, are now swayed by their "free" things. Once that political group can no longer provide those things, the worm turns. It has happened with EVERY socialistic/communistic/totalitarian form of gov't that tries to keep power via buying the votes

 

[Nom de Forum]

There is a concerted political group that controls the masses via the "free" giveaways paid for by those who actually work and produce something. The huge mass of folks, both legal and illegal, are now swayed by their "free" things. Once that political group can no longer provide those things, the worm turns. It has happened with EVERY socialistic/communistic/totalitarian form of gov't that tries to keep power via buying the votes

The small elite class that controls the government will not be composed of people "who actually work and produce something". The small elite class will be people who own what can be worked at to produce something by an ever shrinking group of people other than themselves who work to produce something. This will result in a return to feudalism, an old term for government by a few wealthy owners. In feudal societies access to weapons is very restricted by law and cost. The poor, the working poor, and the tradesman will not own weapons comparable to those of the elite if for no other reason than they are unaffordable.