Newly elected President Javier Milei of Argentina is an admirer of the right to keep and bear arms, similar to the Second Amendment enshrined in the Constitution of the United States of America. Argentina has a vibrant gun culture nurtured by strong rural farming and cattle ranching roots.
According to csmonitor.com, sales of small-caliber weapons (probably .22 caliber) were not regulated until the early 1990’s. As Argentina has descended into worse and worse poverty from inept socialist policies, more and more regulatory burdens were placed on the acquisition and carrying of firearms.
As reported by as-coa.org, ordinary citizens can acquire some firearms. Firearms must be registered, and the place they are stored must be recorded. Firearms owners are fingerprinted, must undergo training, pass psychiatric and physical examinations, and show proof of income. How much income is required to be eligible to own a firearm is unclear. There is a “may issue” permit system. Permits under the system are only valid for one year. The applicant is required to justify the need to carry the firearm. The batimes.com.ar tells us President Milei wants to eliminate most of these elaborate restrictions. From batimes.com.ar:
Guns also enter the conversation – the national deputy has also ratified on several occasions his agreement with the unrestricted right to bear arms.
CNN.com reinforces this information:
Milei’s political program also includes slashing regulations on gun control and transferring authority over the penitentiary system from civilians to the military; both measures part of a tough-on-crime approach.
President Milei seems serious about his promise to slash government spending. From theblaze.com:
Javier Milei, Argentina’s new libertarian president, has wasted no time amputating various bureaucratic tentacles.
Within hours of being sworn into office on Sunday, Milei made good on his vow to take a “chainsaw” both to government spending and to what he called his country’s “political caste,” signing an executive order to cut the number of government ministries from 18 to nine.
President Milei is limited in his power. He has to have support in the Argentine Congress. From buenosairesherald.com:
By law, the executive power must inform Congress of the DNU within the next 10 days after the decree is published in Argentina’s Official Bulletin. A special commission with members of both chambers then has to analyze the decree’s language and vote on whether it’s valid. The Senate and the Chamber of Deputies then have to vote to approve it or not. Both chambers must reject a decree for it to be annulled.
Milei won the presidency with 56 percent of the vote. His political party won 35 of 130 seats up for election in the Chamber of Deputies and 7 of 24 seats up for election in the Senate. The Chamber of Deputies has a total of 257 seats. The Senate has 72 seats in total. It is not bad for a new political party. President Milei will need allies to pass legislation or uphold his executive actions.
Milei’s support comes from the more rural states, carrying 19 of 23 states. The states with the big urban centers went to his opponents. This is similar to the pattern of voting seen in the United States, Australia, and Canada.
When President Bolsonaro of Brazil attempted to reform the highly restrictive gun laws in Brazil, he had some success but was hampered by strong opposition in the bureaucracy and legislative branch.
This correspondent does not expect a radical change in Argentina’s gun laws very soon. If President Milei is able to enact much of his reforms; if he starts to unwind 100 years of bad governance in Argentina, he may be able to reform the restrictive gun laws as well.
About Dean Weingarten:
Dean Weingarten has been a peace officer, a military officer, was on the University of Wisconsin Pistol Team for four years, and was first certified to teach firearms safety in 1973. He taught the Arizona concealed carry course for fifteen years until the goal of Constitutional Carry was attained. He has degrees in meteorology and mining engineering, and retired from the Department of Defense after a 30 year career in Army Research, Development, Testing, and Evaluation.
