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Wednesday, March 30, 2016

Brazil Has Nearly 60,000 Murders, And It May Relax Gun Laws

At the dilapidated morgue in the northern Brazilian city of Natal, Director Marcos Brandao walks over the blood-smeared floor to where the corpses are kept.

He points out the labels attached to the bright metal doors, counting out loud. It has not been a particularly bad night, yet there are nine shooting victims in cold storage.

Most were shot with guns that were not legally owned, he says.

Almost 60,000 people were murdered in Brazil in 2014, most with guns. While some Latin American countries have higher per capita murder rates, in absolute numbers, Brazil is the deadliest place in the world outside Syria.

Brazilians are far more likely to be shot to death than Americans, a more populous country where there are about 8,000 to 9,000 gun homicides each year.

Still, a group of Brazilian congressmen wants to make guns easier to obtain, modeling their proposal on U.S. legislation.

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3 comments:

Anonymous said...

"..Most were shot with guns that were not legally owned, he says.."

So more gun laws will solve the problem.

And NPR is funded by the taxpayers.

Anonymous said...

Why is Ted Cruz lying about his first name? Rafeal.

Anonymous said...

The Salisbury University Police is currently investigating a bank robbery which occurred at 10:10 hrs at Shore Bank near Milford Street and South Salisbury Blvd. Suspect is described at a black male, 5’5, brown jacket, blue jeans, yellow construction hat or black hoodie. (just came over email)