Eduardo Cabrita, the minister of administration, has revealed that the government is reviewing current gun laws to allow Portugal to continue to be a safe country to live in and visit.


The minister stated that “additional controls on the use of guns” is an “essential contribution” to the safety of people in Portugal.


“More weapons do not equal greater safety”, he said at the signing of a protocol on weapons and explosives signed between the PSP police and the Spanish Civil Guard.


“Comparative experiences on several continents demonstrate that gun laws are a solution to violent and serious crime,” he said.
The bill transposes a directive of the European Union under the rules of conflict prevention and control for the use of weapons and limits the number of weapons that each person can have at their home.


Some 21,000 weapons were destroyed in 2015 and this increased to 36,500 in 2018, there was also a 36 percent increase in weapon seizures in 2018 and a 28 percent increase in the seizure of explosives.


Eduardo Cabrita added that weapon and explosive seizures have “contributed decisively” to the reduction of violent and serious crime in Portugal, which dropped 8.6 percent last year compared to 2017.