Since December 2023, with the change of government, various measures have begun to be implemented to make access to weapons more flexible. The minimum age to become a regular user will be lowered from 21 to 18. Make the procedure for accessing weapons and obtaining “explicit possession” as easy as possible. And abolishing the National Agency for Controlled Substances (Anmac) and returning to the National Registry of Arms (Renar) would mean the loss of state control and design of prevention policies.
These measures have recently added the possibility of civilian access to semi-automatic weapons. These are rifles, similar rifles, carbines and assault submachine guns derived from military use, with a caliber larger than .22 LR, previously reserved for military use.
Renar resolution 37/2025, operationalizing Decree 397/2025 of June last year, establishes the requirements for accessing these weapons. It stands out that the purpose must be “sporting use,” but the euphemism that hides the real reason for the measure is that it is a lucrative business for some and “cleansing” weapons carried by members of the security forces, both active and retired.
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Although there are some sports competitions that allow the use of these types of weapons, such as rapid-fire, athletes generally compete with ranged weapons.
We must remember that these weapons are the preferred weapons of choice for carrying out mass shootings in the United States. In 2025 alone, as of November 10, there were 379 mass shootings, resulting in a total of 427 deaths. The model that is being sought to be emulated is one in which the ownership of arms is conceived of as an individual right, supported by the Second Amendment, with origins in the nation’s founding, and associated with values such as patriotism and freedom. The model estimates that 393 million weapons are in circulation among a population of 335 million people.
Brazil’s experience under President Jair Bolsonaro (2019-2022) also illustrates the risks of liberalizing access to arms. During this period, in addition to increasing the amount of permits per person, more than 40 measures were approved to facilitate the purchase, carrying and acquisition of previously prohibited weapons.
A study by the Sou da Paz Institute into the impact of this policy found that organized crime had access to more modern and powerful weapons that were purchased directly by criminals through control failures and frontmen. The only result these measures achieved was the strengthening of organized crime.
An armed society is not safe. Evidence and common sense show that the more guns in circulation, the more deaths, suicides, and accidents that occur.
In Argentina, the report on Homicide with Firearms (2017-2022) reveals that almost 25% of murders were committed using this type of weapon. At least 20% are in legal possession, and 15% are registered on exAnmac, including in the possession of members of the security forces.
These data are clear examples of how “legal weapons” are also implicated in crime, both in the hands of civilians and in the hands of security forces, and that they do not protect us.
Today, there is no societal demand for more weapons. It is a false idea of freedom aimed at a minority of the population, and in the not-too-distant future we will see the consequences of this narrow view.
In the name of freedom, we will be afraid to send our children to school. That day will be the day we understand that violence is not fought with more weapons, but with more control. And perhaps by then it will already be too late.
*Director of the Public Policy Association (APP), Coordinator of Sehlac, expert on international security and arms control issues.
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