Brazil uses soccer to bring down the murder rate
| Rio de Janeiro
鈥� A local, slice-of-life story from a Monitor correspondent.
With 16 million guns circulating in Brazil and nearly 100 citizens killed each day by firearms, lawmakers here are hoping there is one national passion that will induce gun owners to lay down arms: soccer.
Draft legislation in Brazil鈥檚 congress would give discounted 2014 World Cup Brazil tickets to those who voluntarily turn in their weapons. Brazil currently has the highest number of annual murders.
Luiz Carlos, a retired policeman who mans a local voluntary disarmament center, is skeptical the proposed legislation will work. 鈥淣inety percent who come here turn [guns] in for their family鈥檚 security,鈥� says Mr. Carlos. He shows three pistols donated by a widow who said her husband wouldn鈥檛 have been killed by a burglar if he hadn鈥檛 pulled a gun to challenge the robber. 鈥淭he motivation isn鈥檛 the money. It鈥檚 to do away with the gun.鈥�
