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El Salvador Congress votes to legalize unregistered guns San Salvador, Oct 17 (AFP) Oct 17, 2024 El Salvador's Congress on Wednesday approved the legalization of unregistered firearms held by citizens of the Central American nation, whose president has cracked down hard on criminal gangs. People with unregistered guns will have 90 days to inform the defense ministry how they acquired them. The law was passed by 57 votes out of 60 in the single-chamber Congress, which is controlled by President Nayib Bukele's party Nuevas Ideas. Ruling party legislator Alexia Rivas said that the move was "not about arming citizens," but rather that "the state should have absolute control" over guns. The decree stipulates that any person may inform the authorities, without consequences, about hidden firearms. El Salvador has been under a state of emergency since March 2022 as part of Bukele's controversial "war" against gangsters. The crackdown has led to a sharp fall in homicides and is praised by many Salvadorans, although rights groups have criticized Bukele's methods. |
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