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Brazilians cast votes in firearm sales referendum

Brazil, the world's leader in gun-related murders, went to the polls yesterday to decide on a proposal to ban the sale of firearms and munitions.

In a world first, the South American country's 122 million voters will decide in a national referendum whether to ban the trade and sale of guns and munitions.

crime level

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who pushed through a gun control measure in 2003, is backing the measure that is pitting farmers who are worried about defending themselves against business executives who say that the level of crime in Latin America's biggest economy is unacceptable.

The results are expected to be close.

According to a poll this month of 2,200 people by Rio de Janeiro-based Ibope, 49 percent oppose the change and 45 percent favor it.

gun deaths

A gun-related death occurs once every 15 minutes in the South American country.

According to recent UNESCO statistics, Brazil, with 21.71 gun deaths per 100,000 people, is world second behind Venezuela, with 34.30 deaths.

In comparison, Spain has a rate of 0.78 and Britain has 0.29.

Between 1979 and 2003, 550,000 people have died from gun deaths in Brazil.

The measure is backed by prominent stars and rappers such as the pop music star Lulu Santos, who was robbed of his car, money and documents recently in his upscale neighborhood in Rio.

`long overdue'

"This was long overdue. Brazil holds the record. We have an undeclared civil war. In my city Rio, an armed robbery takes place every 90 seconds," he said.

The Roman Catholic Church also supports the referendum.

In another country where uncontrolled gun use is a problem -- the US -- a bill that would shield gun manufacturers from crime victims' lawsuits cleared another hurdle on its way to approval.

The US House of Representatives approved the law that cleared the Senate in July, and sent it to US President George W. Bush for certain signature.

The bill's passage was hailed as a "historic victory" by the gun lobby.
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