By the
A.M. Costa Rica staff
Deputies in the Legislative Assembly approved the
reforms of file #20508 known as The Partial Reform
of Weapons and Explosives Law on the second debate.
Eduardo Solano, Vice Minister of Public Security
said "It was necessary to implement these reforms in
our legislation, after several attempts in the past
today thanks to the institutional effort and the
deputies, today we have better legal tools that
allow us to continue working on important issues
such as the reduction of the homicides. "
The most important approvals on the weapons law are:
- The registration of a maximum of two weapons per
person. Before, the law allowed three weapons per
person
- A penalty of two to four years in prison for
anyone who carries a firearm without the proper
license.
- That penalty will increase, in cases in which
the weapon is not registered or the use of the
weapon is related to any case of organized crime or
illicit association.
- When the person carries a registered firearm but
the carry permit has expired, the individual will be
fined according to a base amount in the Penal Code
but not jailed.
The Penal Code establishes sanctions according to
the rule known as “Base Salary,” that is used as a
reference to establish sanctions, as for example,
one sanction could be equivalent to one Basic
Salary, which could be approximately ¢446,200
colones (about $739).
- In case of recidivism within the period of six
months of the first crime, the fine will be double.
- Any owner of a firearm, whether registered a
person or company, is required to report the gun to
the Judicial Investigation Agency and the Firearms
and Explosives Control Department, as well as to
report if the weapon is lost or stolen within a
period of five working days from the moment of loss.
In the event that the weapon is recovered, that
update must also be reported as well.
- A penalty of three to five years in prison
shall be imposed on anyone who has an illegal
firearm, one which was not duly registered with the
Department of Arms and Explosives Control.
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- A penalty of from four to eight years in prison
will be imposed on anyone who owns, buys, sells,
transports, stores, enters to the national
territory, exports, conceals, manufactures,
assembles, transforms, any illegal weapons or any of
its parts and components.
- 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.
On March 1, as was reported by A.M. Costa Rica,
more reforms were made when the deputies unanimously
approved the file #20947 called 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 from whom it was
confiscated.
The new regulation authorizes to 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 that a
judge will assess that request.
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