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New Venezuala Gun Law

Mike

Well-known member
A new law in Venezuela bans the sale of guns, requires universal gun registration and threatens to send violators to prison for 20 years. The law, which was “guaranteed” to save lives, was not the work of Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, nor was it suggested by President Obama, but the brainchild of the late Hugo Chavez and signed by his successor, President Nicolas Maduro. Venezuela enacts the dreams of American liberals.
Proponents expect gun violence to disappear from Venezuela now that the possession of a gun is allowed only with the government’s explicit permission. Mr. Maduro insists that weapons of war have absolutely no place on the streets. The law defines such “assault weapons” as any pistol that can fire a 9 mm or larger cartridge and any rifle firing anything larger than a .22 long rifle cartridge. Mrs. Feinstein is surely envious.
Friends of the Bolivarian Revolution may be granted a “hunting” exemption that allows them to keep a rifle or two, but under no circumstances will anyone have the right to possess nuclear, chemical and biological weapons of mass destruction. No H-bombs for the Venezuelan masses.
Even remaining small-caliber ammunition must have a serial number and date engraved on the cartridge, which is a low-tech version of the “microstamping” mandates in fashion in California and New York. The handful of Venezuelans allowed to keep a gun may buy only 51 rounds a year. Reloading ammunition is punishable by eight years in prison.
Venezuela isn’t confiscating guns — yet. “The Venezuelan state, in order to safeguard peace … will encourage the voluntary delivery and recovery of firearms and ammunition, as well as the destruction thereof,” the law decrees. The firearms industry will be forced to pay for the incentives used to persuade Venezuelans to turn in their weapons, and a state-run media propaganda campaign will attempt to persuade the public of the “evil of guns.” Films that “promote the use of firearms and ammunition” will be censored or forbidden. The latest “Die Hard” sequel or anything by Quentin Tarantino can’t be shown now in Caracas.
Venezuela’s new law is extreme, but we must be wary in America. In April, a 14-year-old eighth grader in West Virginia was arrested and criminally charged for wearing a National Rifle Association “Protect Your Right” T-shirt to class. The shirt didn’t actually violate the school’s dress code; the youth stands accused of the made-up “crime” of “disturbing the educational process” and “obstructing an officer” because he refused to remove the shirt. His real offense was reminding his classmates that gun ownership is still a right in this country, and that’s a thought liberal school administrators want to suppress.
Human Rights Watch identifies the same trait in the Venezuelan government, and the group urges Mr. Maduro to discontinue the “iron fist” to restrict and intimidate those who speak up. Instead of striving to be more like Venezuela, American liberals ought to realize that suppressing constitutional rights has no place in a free society.


Read more: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/jun/19/hugos-gun-dream/#ixzz2WhE8NYqN
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Steve

Well-known member
I read it and thought it was just satire... especially the part about the nuclear and chemical weapons..

Venezuela's New Gun Control Legislation Calls on Firearm Industry to Compensate Victims

Merida, June 5th 2013 (Venezuelanalysis.com) – Venezuela's National Assembly (AN) has approved a new law that restricts access to firearms and provides an amnesty for owners of illegal firearms to surrender their weapons.

The Law for the Control of Firearms, Ammunition and Disarmament was passed by the AN on Tuesday, and is set to be enacted into law next week, on June 11.

According to the chairperson of the parliamentary committee on domestic policy, Elvis Amoroso, the law is “guaranteed” to save lives.

“Every time you take a gun away from a criminal, it benefits people who would have been robbed,” he stated.

The new law mandates the Venezuelan armed forces with sole “jurisdiction to authorise the manufacture, import, export and marketing of all kinds of weapons.”

The law also imposes an 8 to 10 year sentence for individuals who smuggle firearms into Venezuelan prisons; though the maximum penalty is higher for police and military personnel.

Illegal ownership of a firearm will attract a maximum prison sentence of 20 years, but the AN also approved a controversial article that extends an amnesty on individuals that voluntarily surrender guns to law enforcement; even if the weapon may have been procured illegally.

Opposition legislator Leomagno Flores stated that the government should not be allowed to “grant amnesty” unconditionally; however the article was included, and the law passed the AN unanimously.

The law also prohibits the display of firearms in public places, and imposes a ban on “all nuclear, chemical, biological and weapons of mass destruction” within Venezuelan territory.

It also proposes the creation of a fund to compensate victims of gun crime. Under the proposition, firearm manufacturers, importers and retailers would be required to contribute 5% of their net profits to the fund.

Speaking to public channel VTV on Tuesday, the law was described as a significant step towards reducing gun violence by Freddy Bernal, the president of the Presidential Commission for Disarmament.

As a bipartisan working group of legislators, the commission was tasked with drafting the law. However, Bernal conceded that “the problem of crime is... multi-faceted”, and argued that more needs to be done.

Bernal also blamed the media for “promoting violence”, and stated that broadcasters and publishers should do more to promote “peace, harmony, reconciliation among citizens and an understanding that violence cannot be the way to resolve conflicts.”

First proposed in January 2010, draft legislation on the law had been subject to public scrutiny since August 2011, when the first public debate on the law was held in the city of Maracay, Aragua state. Since then, according to Bernal there have been 11 public consultations and 42 “technical” meetings with law enforcement bodies and “other organisations involved in the development, control and use of weapons and ammunition”. He described the legislation as “sufficiently debated”.

Venezuela has one of the world's highest rates of gun violence; in 2011, the government estimated that 94% of homicides involved firearms. In 2010, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime put the country's homicide rate at 45.1 per 100,000.

Since last year, the government has imposed a nationwide ban on all firearm and ammunition sales. Law enforcement, private security firms, gun sports and the military have been exempted from the ban.

but then again,. you can never be to cautious..
 

Steve

Well-known member
From last year..

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-18288430

Venezuela bans private gun ownership

Venezuela has brought a new gun law into effect which bans the commercial sale of firearms and ammunition

Under the new law, only the army, police and certain groups like security companies will be able to buy arms from the state-owned weapons manufacturer and importer.

Hugo Chavez's government says the ultimate aim is to disarm all civilians, but his opponents say the police and government may not have the capacity or the will to enforce the new law.

see all you have to do is put a law in place and all the guns will be turned in and crime will plummet.. :?
 
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