President Jair Bolsonaro has urged millions of Brazilians to arm themselves as soon as possible in order to fight against the tyrannical elites who want to enslave them.
“Everybody has to buy a rifle, damn it! Armed people will never be enslaved,” Bolsonaro told a crowd of supporters on Friday outside his official residence, the Alvorada Palace.
Rt.com reports: He acknowledged that weapons “cost a lot,” but insisted that those who oppose guns should stop nagging people who want and can afford to buy them.
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During his campaign for office, Bolsonaro vowed to relax Brazil’s gun laws so that citizens could protect themselves from the country’s rampant crime and violence.
And he kept that promise, issuing almost a dozen decrees that made firearms, including semi-automatic assault rifles, more easily available to the public. Some of them, however, were modified by the National Congress.
The president’s latest initiative in February allowed Brazilian citizens to own up to six guns and stripped back federal police and army oversight of firearms ownership. Those with hunting licenses are now free to buy 30 guns, while sports shooters can have as many as 60.
According to data obtained from law enforcement by O Globo newspaper, the number of firearms in private ownership in the country has increased from around 700,000 to over 1.2 million since 2018.
