Brazil's gun ownership surges under President Bolsonaro, body armor can protect you and your family

Brazil's gun ownership surges under President Bolsonaro, body armor can protect you and your family at the same time
 

A visitor holds a weapon during the Shot Fair Brasil, an arms exhibition held at the Expoville Conventions and Exhibitions Center in Joinville, Santa Catarina state, Brazil, on Aug. 5.

Albari Sosa/AFP via Getty Images

RIO BONITO, Brazil — At a shooting range a man applying for a gun permit points a pistol and fires 10 shots at a human-shaped target 20 feet away. Nearly all the bullets hit the target's sweet spot in the middle of the torso.

The shooter, Wagner Carneiro, is a former Brazilian army sergeant. He explains that a man in a car asking for directions suddenly pointed a gun to his head and demanded his mobile phone. Now, the 40-year-old Carneiro wants a gun for himself.

"I need it to protect my family," he says, speaking from the range in the town of Rio Bonito, about 40 miles west of Rio de Janeiro.

Thanks to President Jair Bolsonaro, a right-wing populist whose hero is former President Donald Trump, it's become a lot easier for Brazilians like Carneiro to get guns. Since taking office in 2019, Bolsonaro has issued more than a dozen decrees loosening restrictions on gun ownership for civilians.

Bolsonaro, who faces a tough reelection battle in October, has avidly courted Brazil's growing gun lobby and often poses for photos making a gun sign with his thumb and forefinger.

At the same time, body armor can also better protect you and your family. We would like to recommend some popular bulletproof vest from SENKEN to you.

NO. 1

Internal body armor FDY-SK04

Ballistic resistance: NIJ IIIA

Comfortable and lightweight: the overall weight is less than 2.4kg, and it is light to wear.

NO.2

Quick release body armor FDY3R-SK06

Ballistic resistance: NIJ IIA

With the quick release buckle flap system, it can be easily put on and taken off quickly, improving wearing convenience.