(Aug. 27, 2019) On June 25, 2019, Brazil enacted Decree No. 9,847 to regulate the acquisition, registration, possession, and sale of firearms and ammunition, as well as define the responsibilities of the National Arms System (Sistema Nacional de Armas, SINARM) and create the Military Weapons Management System (Sistema de Gerenciamento Militar de Armas).
The Decree was enacted to regulate Law No. 10,826 (the Disarmament Statute, Estatuto do Desarmamento), which was promulgated on December 22, 2003, with the aim of decreasing crimes involving firearms. Law No. 10,826 instituted more rigid criteria for the control of firearms by regulating the registration, possession, and sale of firearms and ammunition; creating SINARM; and defining crimes that involve the unauthorized possession, carrying, trade, and international trafficking of firearms (arts. 1, 2, 12, 18).
Decree No. 9,847 provides definitions of firearms of permitted, restricted, and prohibited use; ammunition of permitted and prohibited use; handguns (arma de fogo de porte); portable guns (arma de fogo portátil); and registration (cadastro e registro) of firearms (art. 2).
The Decree also determined that the Army Command (Comando do Exército) was required to establish benchmark parameters for and publish a list of the nominal firearms gauges that fall within the limits established in article 2 of the Decree (art. 2(§ 2). Accordingly, on August 12, 2019, the Army Command enacted Adminstrative Act 1,222, which defines the gauges now considered of permitted use in Brazil. The Act permits civilians to have access to ammunition that was previously classified as restricted use, such as 9 mm, .40 and .45, but prohibits civilians from using rifles.