Around 11,000 Americans are killed every year by guns. In Brazil, where the population is significantly smaller, the number is about 34,000. It's the highest number of gun deaths worldwide.
Despite this, I'm more optimistic about Brazil's future in terms of guns than the States'.
It's basically impossible for a civilian to legally own a gun here. You've got to be at least 25 and really, really want it considering the money and bureaucratic hoops you've got to jump through. This is the result of a 2004 law called the Disarmament Statute. That year, the country saw 2,000 fewer homicides, followed by a similar drop the year after. Here in São Paulo, the murder rate is down about 60% now compared to then.
Of course, just like in America, the vast majority of murders are not committed by legal gun owners or legally purchased guns. Brazil--I was surprised to learn--is actually a huge weapons manufacturer. Many of those guns are sold to other countries and then smuggled back into Brazil into the hands of gangs.
The problem here is also tied to wealth inequality and corruption. Again, the vast majority of murders here are poor on poor. Brazil's economy has seen massive growth over the last 15 years, but ask any local and they'll tell you that money has lined the pockets of the very few. All the protests you've seen here and will see when the World Cup rolls around stem directly from the problem of inequality.
The reason I'm more optimistic about Brazil's future is the difference in attitudes towards guns. A recent interview with security expert Robert Muggah summed it up by saying, "America is the only country in the world that considers owning a gun a basic right. In Brazil and other countries…owning a weapon is considered a privilege."
Sadly, this attitude may be changing. In 2005, following the immediate success of the Disarmament Policy, a referendum was up in Brazil to completely ban civilian weapons. It was voted down. What group was instrumental in making that happen? The NRA. It turns out the US imports more guns from Brazil than any other country. It's a culture the NRA doesn't want to see change. The Brazilian gun lobby met with the NRA, borrowed their strategies and translated many of their materials into Portuguese to rally citizen support. The central message they delivered, according to one article, is that the referendum infringed on people's rights.
While there is an ongoing push among many Brazilians to make weapons legally accessible, I get the feeling here that most people have no interest in owning a weapon. The streets here are rough and there is a lot of crime, but the American spirit of self defense and arming yourself is absent here. When people here advise me on safety, they tell me what parts of town to avoid at night. They don't recommend I consider carrying a weapon to protect me. I have a pocketknife that I thought about keeping on me when I first arrived--an attitude I now recognize as an American one, not a personal one.
It churns my stomach to learn that the NRA has an active interest in Brazil's gun debate. Since having moved here, I now believe that the American gun debate is over. The NRA has won. As long as there is a Second Amendment in the Constitution, nothing will change. I can only imagine a massive cultural swing changing things, and since Newtown didn't do it, I don't know what will.
America has a wealthy economy and a gun problem. Brazil has an emerging economy and a gun problem. I feel like (I pray) that Brazilians have the right pre-existing attitude towards guns to facilitate a precipitous drop in violence if the country can continue to grow financially and educationally.
The more influence the NRA has here, the worse. The day that Disarmament vanishes and Brazilians can obtain guns with the same ease as Americans will be the day that I leave.
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