Brazil to hold Nationwide Referendum on Gun Ban

As reported in the New York Times:

With about 180 million people living here, nearly 40,000 were killed by firearms in 2003. That is almost four times the number in the United States, whose population is larger by more than 100 million people. Brazil's cities are growing more violent and dangerous, crime is rising and gangs often have more firepower than the police now. But a government plan for a complete nationwide ban on guns has generated an impassioned civic debate of a kind rarely seen here.
On Oct. 23, Latin America's biggest country will vote in a referendum that asks a single direct question, "Should the commerce of arms and ammunition be prohibited in Brazil?" While other countries have banned guns, supporters of both the yes and no positions here say that this is the first time anywhere in the world that the electorate is being called on to decide the issue.
The vote, in which participation is obligatory (shirkers will be fined), is meant to ratify a highly restrictive gun control law that went into effect at the end of 2003, which has made it extremely difficult for ordinary citizens to legally buy, sell or own guns and ammunition. That legislation's phased application called for this referendum to decide on an all-but-total limit.

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--Tom Hayes