Ecuador eases access to guns amid spike in violence

Ecuador is allowing civilians to carry guns in response to growing insecurity, potentially worsening the country's violence by giving criminals greater access to weapons.

President Guillermo Lasso announced a decree on April 1 that lifts a 12-year-old ban on civilians carrying firearms in public.

Those who seek to carry a gun must be over 25 and pass a psychological evaluation, a drugs test, and receive a certificate of skill in handling and using firearms. Anyone with a criminal record or history of domestic violence remains banned from purchasing a firearm.

Ecuador's pre-existing gun law specifies that civilians may only own “personal defense” weapons - meaning specific types of pistols, revolvers, and shotguns.

The president's announcement comes amid a period of extreme violence in the country. Last year, murders in Ecuador rose more than 80%, with experts pointing the finger at the country's drug trafficking groups.

At: https://insightcrime.org/news/ecuador-eases-access-guns-amid-spike-violence/

Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso announcing the lifting of a 12-year-old ban on civilians carrying firearms in public.

The country's murder rate has jumped from 5.6 per 100,000 in 2017 (a level comparable to that of the U.S. that year) to 25 per 100,000 - one of the highest in the world.

The Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE) cautioned that the decision “will only create a constant atmosphere of terror for the population, with more violence, crime and murders” - and warned of a possible rise of paramilitary groups.