In spite of draconian gun laws, violence is rampant in Brazil’s biggest cities.
Wave of violence sweeps Brazil’s biggest city
SAO PAULO (AP) –– At least 140 people have been murdered in South America’s biggest city over the past two weeks in a rising wave of violence, Sao Paulo’s Public Safety Department says.
Killings in Sao Paulo began sharply increasing in September, a month in which 144 people were killed, the department’s website says. It says a total of 982 homicides took place in the city during the first nine months of the year.
The victims included 90 police officers, most of them gunned down while off duty.
Wave of violence sweeps over ‘Alpha World City‘ in spite of restrictive gun laws
What they reveal about the laws under which this renewed “wave of violence” is occurring is also telling: that in spite of licensing, registration, background checks, training requirements, permissions, proof of “genuine reasons,” reapplication and re-qualification requirements, a minimum purchase age, ammunition controls, restrictions on the number of guns licensed dealers may sell individuals within a given time period (with more lax rules for “retired military officials and non-commissioned officers,” naturally, waiting periods and penalties including prison and a fine for illegal gun possession, authorities have no idea how many unauthorized guns are in circulation, with estimates anywhere between 3.8 and 9.5 million.
In spite of all this, the tide of blood keeps rising, and not just in any city, but in San Paulo, a designated “Alpha World City,” that is, “an important node in the global economic system.” So naturally, Brazil is a big proponent of a “strict” and “universal” United Nations Arms Trade Treaty.