Merida, (Venezuelanalysis.com) – On Thursday Venezuelans held the first of numerous public debates on the proposed Law of Firearms Control and Disarmament drafted by the country’s National Assembly. A legal initiative proposed by the Presidential Commission for Disarmament, the draft law is to be discussed by organized communities nationwide before being modified and passed next year.
“The idea is that this law be the result of a transparent, ample, and profound discussion by Venezuelan society,” explained United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) lawmaker Freddy Bernal.
Bernal, who is president of the National Assembly’s bi-partisan commission established to draft the Law of Firearms Control and Disarmament, affirmed that the pending legislation “is to be a fundamental instrument for State policies aimed at controlling criminality and violence.”
To be effecting, said Bernal, the Presidential Commission for Disarmament is asking “the entire population to share their proposals and express their criticisms, thus strengthening this legal instrument.”
“The debate must include governors, mayors, society on the whole, as well as the means of communication – since all are co-responsible in addressing the problem (of gun violence),” he affirmed.
Communal councils, individual citizens, academics, campesino and cattle rancher associations, sporting clubs, and non governmental organizations (NGOs) have also been invited to the debates.
As reported in Venezuela’s daily Correo del Orinoco, the legislation contemplates a revision of arms purchasing laws, an overall reduction in the sale of guns to private citizens, the opening of a legal window for unlicensed weapons to be handed over to the State, and the participation of communal councils in the local control of gun ownership.
The first debate on said law, held yesterday in Maracay, state of Aragua, brought together members of the general public, human rights activists, local law enforcement, the National Bolivarian Armed Forces (FANB), and the country’s National Guard (GN).
Present at the debate was Alfredo Roberto Missair, United Nations representative in Venezuela, who affirmed that the law under discussion “is a fundamental aspect of (guaranteeing) Human Rights” in Venezuela because a policy of disarmament “looks to protect the rights of all citizens, regardless of age, sex, or social condition.”
The final edition of the law is not expected to be passed until sometime next year, after Venezuelans nationwide have had the opportunity to give their feedback on an entire “packet of laws and measures which include the Law of Disarmament, the Organic Law of Communal Justice, the reform to the Organic Code of Penal Process, and the Organic Penitentiary Code,” explained Bernal.
Venezuela’s Ministry of Defense reports that close to 200,000 arms have been confiscated and destroyed since 2003, 65,000 of them removed last year.
While the removal of arms from society has advanced steadily, the International Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA) reports that 79.4% of homicides committed in Venezuela between June 2008 and June 2009 were the result of gun violence.
Last year, the murder rate in Venezuela reached 48 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants, the majority of which died from gunshot wounds.
“The idea is that this law be the result of a transparent, ample, and profound discussion by Venezuelan society,” explained United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) lawmaker Freddy Bernal.
Bernal, who is president of the National Assembly’s bi-partisan commission established to draft the Law of Firearms Control and Disarmament, affirmed that the pending legislation “is to be a fundamental instrument for State policies aimed at controlling criminality and violence.”
To be effecting, said Bernal, the Presidential Commission for Disarmament is asking “the entire population to share their proposals and express their criticisms, thus strengthening this legal instrument.”
“The debate must include governors, mayors, society on the whole, as well as the means of communication – since all are co-responsible in addressing the problem (of gun violence),” he affirmed.
Communal councils, individual citizens, academics, campesino and cattle rancher associations, sporting clubs, and non governmental organizations (NGOs) have also been invited to the debates.
As reported in Venezuela’s daily Correo del Orinoco, the legislation contemplates a revision of arms purchasing laws, an overall reduction in the sale of guns to private citizens, the opening of a legal window for unlicensed weapons to be handed over to the State, and the participation of communal councils in the local control of gun ownership.
The first debate on said law, held yesterday in Maracay, state of Aragua, brought together members of the general public, human rights activists, local law enforcement, the National Bolivarian Armed Forces (FANB), and the country’s National Guard (GN).
Present at the debate was Alfredo Roberto Missair, United Nations representative in Venezuela, who affirmed that the law under discussion “is a fundamental aspect of (guaranteeing) Human Rights” in Venezuela because a policy of disarmament “looks to protect the rights of all citizens, regardless of age, sex, or social condition.”
The final edition of the law is not expected to be passed until sometime next year, after Venezuelans nationwide have had the opportunity to give their feedback on an entire “packet of laws and measures which include the Law of Disarmament, the Organic Law of Communal Justice, the reform to the Organic Code of Penal Process, and the Organic Penitentiary Code,” explained Bernal.
Venezuela’s Ministry of Defense reports that close to 200,000 arms have been confiscated and destroyed since 2003, 65,000 of them removed last year.
While the removal of arms from society has advanced steadily, the International Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA) reports that 79.4% of homicides committed in Venezuela between June 2008 and June 2009 were the result of gun violence.
Last year, the murder rate in Venezuela reached 48 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants, the majority of which died from gunshot wounds.
Exactly what Hitler did
ReplyDeleteIt is exactly what the Obama administration WANTS to do, look at project Gunnrunner--how evil is this administration to conduct a program allowing US guns to "walk" away to Mexico and Honduras so that the violence there will be blamed on US guns. The most treasonous and impeachable acts that this adminstration commits seldom get notice or headlines.
ReplyDelete"But it's for your own good". Pretty much what the British crown told us when they made us quarter their soldiers and taxed us unfairly, or hung people they called "traitors". Good thing we had guns. I'll bet the citizens of North Korea WISH they had some guns. The leaders of ANY and EVERY dictatorship want to do two things first --- control the flow of information (a RADIO receiver is banned in North Korea!) and to disarm the population. If you don't know, you can't (and better not) complain. If you DO complain, that's ALL you can do. They are trying to add legitimacy to the restrictions on guns by being able to say "the citizens (fools that they are) WANTED to give up their guns!! See? We allowed (!!?) them to voice their opinion and they ASKED us to take them!" Of course, the ones who DIDN'T like it were not allowed to speak....
ReplyDeleteUnited States is NEXT
ReplyDeleteTime to go to Washington with a "Million Man and his Guns" March and clean it up!
ReplyDelete