BELLEVUE, WA — Sunday’s landmark rejection by Brazilian citizens of a proposed nationwide gun ban demonstrates that when given a choice, people around the world will opt for freedom and the security of personal firearms ownership over the false promises of government, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA) said today.
“With nearly 100 percent of the votes counted, it appears that 64 percent of Brazilian voters opposed the idea of giving up their firearms,” said CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb. “History has demonstrated that when people are disarmed, they are at the mercy of predators who have no mercy, and governments that all too often oppress people rather than protect them from evil.
“Take, for example, the views of taxi driver Mohammed Osei, who was quoted by CNN,” Gottlieb noted. “When asked why he voted against the nationwide gun ban, he explained matter-of-factly, ‘I don’t like people walking around armed on the street. But since all the bandits have guns, you need to have a gun at home’.”
Gottlieb noted that the track record of Brazil’s proposed gun ban was much the same as similar proposals here in the United States. Early on, polling suggested that the gun ban had the support of 80 percent of the population. However, as the election approached, that support began to evaporate, especially after both sides were given free air time on television to present their cases.
“It never fails,” said Gottlieb, “that when citizens are presented with facts instead of emotionalism and rhetoric, they choose firearms freedom every time. Brazilian citizens understand that you vote freedom away only once, and when you surrender it, through referendum or initiative, you never get it back.
“The Brazil vote should stand as a lesson to global anti-gunners,” Gottlieb observed. “The people they want to disarm through their global gun control efforts don’t care to be left defenseless. Citizens who enjoy firearms freedom are not likely to give up that essential cornerstone of liberty. Gun banners, whether they roam the halls of the United Nations, or the streets of San Francisco, need to be reminded of that every day, and certainly on every election day.
“The vote in Brazil was a victory for freedom,” Gottlieb concluded, “and a strong message for those zealots who would take away that freedom.”