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Brazil Considers Gun Ban

The drug dealers watch out for everyone in the neighborhood 24 hours a day, doing what the police don`t, says Denise do Espirito Santo, 43. "People here fear the police and their guns more than they do the dealers."

The inverted realities of Brazil`s poorest neighborhoods have added complexity to the debate about gun control there, but later this month every citizen from 18 to 70 will confront a clear, yes-no question: Should the sale of all types of guns and ammunition be banned nationwide for everyone except the police and military?

The Oct. 23 referendum, in which all adults must participate (voting is optional for those over 70), will be the first time any country has taken a proposed gun ban to the national ballot. Brazil has the highest number of firearms fatalities in the world, with more than 36,000 people shot dead last year, according to government figures.