The facts are that 36,000 Brazilians died of gun-related deaths last year - the highest in the world. This referendum would have restricted the supply of guns.
But no, Brazilians worked out in their infinite wisdom that life without access to firearms would result in more gun-related deaths than what they suffer now. That's right - by severely restricting the supply of firearms, Brazilians would suffer even more gun related deaths than they do now!
I think I know what is going on - it's the work of the NRA.
You see, had this referendum passed, there would have been a massive drop-off in the amount of gun-related deaths. A drop-off of that magnitude would have given gun-control advocates in the United States ample "ammunition" to force even greater restrictions on American gun-owners.
Fearful of the potential future damage, the NRA has probably funded the "No" campaign in the same way they do it in the US - they focus upon people's fears and argue that restricting firearms is going to hurt law-abiding citizens while the criminals are not affected at all.
The facts are very, very simple. If your nation has lax controls on the sale and procurement of firearms, you will have a very high amount of a gun-related crime, including a high death rate. If your country has very restrictive laws on gun-ownership and prcurement, you have a very low amount of gun-related crime and low death rates as well.
Those are the facts, but the NRA, and their interference in another country's sovereignty, has meant that tens of thousands more people will die over the next few years. And the Brazilians themselves? Can we blame them for being afraid and for not making an informed decision? Yes we can.
From the Department of Wha Happnin?
© 2005 Neil McKenzie Cameron, http://one-salient-oversight.blogspot.com/
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 License.
No comments:
Post a Comment