Citation(s) from the GunPolicy.org literature library
Purcena, Júlio César. 2010 ‘Small Arms Supply in Portugal: Legal and Illegal Markets - Small Arms Circulation in Portugal.’ Violence and Small Arms: The Portuguese Case (Online Bulletin of the Peace Studies Group) (15), p. 2. Coimbra: Peace Studies Group - Centre for Social Studies, School of Economics, University of Coimbra. 1 December
Relevant contents
Small Arms Circulation in Portugal
Based on the number of registered guns by the national Department on Arms and Explosives it is estimated that, in Portugal, 2.6 million small arms are in the hands of civilians.
Of these, 1.4 millions are legal (54%) and 1.2 million are illegal (46%), which means that there are 2.6 small arms to each ten inhabitants.
Data analysis on arms licensing and apprehension tell us that Portuguese people prefer hunting rifles. From a total of 445,360 firearms licenses issued between 2004 and 2008 (89 thousand licenses per year, on average):
- 84.5% concerned hunting weapons (class C and D)
- 4.4 % handguns (class B1)
- 0.8 % sports' weapons (class F)
- 10.3 % home detention licenses
[Classification of weapons established by the current legal framework:
- Class A includes military weapons;
- Class B defence weapons (pistols and revolvers);
- Class C and D hunting rifles;
- Class E tasers and aerosols;
- Class F white weapons, firearm replica and collecting weapons;
- Class G veterinary weapons, soft air arms and compressed air weapons (for sporting purposes).]
Last accessed at:
http://www.ces.uc.pt/index.php?id_lingua=2