Brasília, October 23, 2003 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - The floor vote in the Chamber of Deputies on the Disarmament Statute was concluded today. The vote was symbolic, since there was an accord among party leaders. Among the principal items in the project are the centralization in the federal sphere of permission to bear arms; the referendum on the sale of weapons; and the classification of illegal arms possession as a crime without bail. The project now goes to the Senate.

The Deputy in charge of reporting the project, Luiz Eduardo Greenhalgh (PT-SP), was in an emotional state when he left the Chamber. He said that he dedicated the vote to Deputy Sandra Rosado (PMDB-RN), who gave a moving testimony before the Constitution and Justice Commission about the assassination of her son. Greenhalgh recognizes that the project, by itself, will not resolve the problem of violence in the country, "but it will contribute to reducing the violence." (DAS)