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Deputies destroyed weapons confiscated from criminals |
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 By the A.M. Costa Rica
staff
At the Legislative Assembly* on Wednesday, deputies destroyed some of the weapons that were confiscated by the police as they worked on cases of robberies, homicides and drug trafficking. This was a symbolic act to promote the reforms to the Weapons and Explosives Law and in addition, to raise awareness about the danger of the use of weapons. The weapons were provided by the National Armament Directorate of the Ministry of Public Security and had been stored after being seized in criminal cases. Deputies destroyed 20 handguns and one rifle during the activity. Several of the weapons had been registered by individuals or companies. According to Carolina Hidalgo, President of the Legislature, "this is a symbolic act with the hope of making a change in the mentality of the people." Michael Soto, Minister of Security, said that the metal from the destroyed weapons will be used as a material to build a sculpture, "these weapons were taken from the hands of crime, and we have taken them out of the streets to destroy them, and then use it to build a sculpture." The Minister of Security added that police hope that, as they seize more weapons, the homicide rate will decrease. "At the moment we have 25 fewer homicides, one of the factors that have influenced the decrease of these cases, is the increase of weapons seizure. There are other factors, but it seems to me that this is one of the most important," said Minister Soto. According to the statistics of the Ministry, in 2018, they seized 2,280 weapons. During the first two months of this year, more than 300 weapons have been confiscated. The Ministry of Security is presenting the legislature with a bill to reduce the number of weapons a person may own. Related to changes on weapons registered by civilians, as A.M. Costa Rica reported on March 1st, the deputies of the Special Permanent Commission of Women of the Legislative Assembly unanimously approved the file #20947 named Reform to Articles #4 and #5 of the Law against Domestic Violence. File #20947 is a reform of the law to protect victims of domestic violence when a firearm is involved. Reforms allow seizure of the weapon and allow the judicial authorities to keep it in custody until there is a final resolution. At that point, it can be returned to the owner of confiscated. Deputy Ivonne Acuņa said, "Reform is necessary because those who suffer violence from their partners feel a great fear with the simple fact of knowing that there is a firearm, so the external according to some testimonies that they shared unanimously." The new regulation file, also dictates that it is the duty of the Supreme Court of Justice to keep a record of the names and information of the person against whom precautionary measures of protection have been imposed. This database must be confidential and be consulted only by the judge. The new law also provides that the person suspected of committing domestic violence may request the early lifting of the imposed measure and a judge will assess that request. According to the Special Permanent Commission of Women of the Legislative Assembly, domestic violence and femicides have increased considerably, so additional measures are sought to help neutralize this social epidemic. The current text of the Law against Domestic Violence, in Spanish, can be accessed at: sipi.siteal.iipe.unesco.org here. Currently, the deputies in the legislative assembly are working on the analysis of the weapons law. |
 Fuerza Publica courtesy photo Deputies
destroyed 20 handguns and one rifle during the
activity.
As reported by A.M. Costa Rica on February 25, deputies of the Special Commission on Security and Narco-trafficking, who are in charge of analyzing bill #20.508 on the Weapons and Explosives Law, approved the following motions: - People with a criminal record cannot carry weapons. - It is prohibited for people to enter places of medical services or educational services carrying a weapon. - In the event that a security company closes its operations, representatives should send all firearms, ammunition, loaders, and other items to the Security Ministry for custody within six months. Failure to do so could mean a sentence of from one to three years in prison. - With regard to the purchase of weapons by civilians, the transaction must be formalized before a notary. The seller will report the sales transaction to the Department of Weapons and Explosives of the Ministry of Security. The number of weapons allowed by one person is still three. According to the current law, there is no prohibition on the sale of assault weapons that use AK and AR-15 platforms in a semiautomatic format. However, the Ministry of Security issued an institutional guideline in 2014 that prohibited the sale of these weapons and now the Ministry wants the guideline included in the law. "With regard to the use of semi-automatic weapons, the proposal of paragraph K of Article 25 of the Weapons and Explosives Law, what we intend is that the spectrum of control is much wider. There are semi-automatic weapons that are from the AK47and AR15 platforms, those are military-type structure, those have different calibers, the ones that we include are the most representative, we want to include in the law these calibers to control that spectrum of possibilities because now this type of weapons could be registered by any citizen," said Minister Soto. Although the Commission approved the individual ownership of up to three weapons, Minister Soto said that they will continue to request that the deputies reduce the number to one weapon per person. "We must stay in that position, it must be one weapon for one citizen, we are not disarming the people, those who already have that (referring to two or three guns) will not have problems, we are controlling the new buyers," said the Minister. ---------- Do you think that the government should restrict gun ownership to one weapon per person? ? We would like to know your thoughts on this story. Send your comments to: news@amcostarica.com *Link to reach the place on a map. |
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