Tough new anti-gun legislation comes into force in Brazil on Wednesday, in a bid to curb what the UN says is the world's fourth-highest murder rate.
Under the new rules, anyone carrying a gun without a licence will face a prison sentence.
Permits will be issued only to police, security guards and others in high-risk professions - but they must be at least 25 years old.
Anyone else caught carrying a firearm will face up to four years in prison.
"Those who currently have permits can carry their weapons until midnight, then they turn into pumpkins. After that, they'll be breaking the law if they take their guns out of their houses," a Brazilian justice ministry spokeswoman said on Tuesday, before the law took effect.
The BBC's Steve Kingstone in Sao Paulo says the law is part of a concerted effort by the Brazilian government to reduce the number of people killed in gun-related incidents - nearly 40,000 of them during 2003.
Well, lookey here, another defeat for gun regulation after the people 'learned the hard way.'
Brazilians flatly rejected a plan to ban the commercial sale of firearms and ammunition in a historic national referendum on Sunday. The vote is a victory for Brazil's wealthy gun lobby which opponents say used strategies learned from the National Rifle Association to shift public opinion.
An estimated 122 million citizens took part in the referendum -- the first of its kind in the world -- and preliminary counts showed 64 percent went against the ban while 36 percent backed it. The referendum -- which asked the simple question "Should the commercial sale of guns and ammunition to civilians be prohibited?" -- divided the country, a world leader in gun deaths, into "não" and "sim" camps.
Two months ago, polls showed 60 to 80 percent of Brazilians favored the ban as a way to control the estimated 17 million small arms that are circulating in the country. But as the vote neared, and as both sides of the issue were given free television time, a slick media blitz by the gun lobby appears to have shifted enough voter opinion.
The money that is dumped into advertising to 'beat' the gun regulation is enough to pay an army to stop the illegal transport of weapons into Brazil or to bolster the efforts of law enforcement. Is that what results? Nope. What results are 'scare' tactics to force the public into defending themselves at any cost. In other words, the collective public, as in Israel, are their own militia. Thanks to efforts by the National Rifle Association.
Answer me one question. Does the NRA ever promote 'OTHER' measures of self empowerment like learning martial arts, or arming with 'pepper spray' with lessons on how to best use it or the issue of personal stun guns? Not in your lifetime, kids !
