Honduras to reevaluate gun control laws: How will it impact violence in the region?

The poor regulatory framework in place has meant Honduras has also become a source for the region’s arms traffickers, with weapons found to have made their way into Guatemala and Mexico, the latter having comparatively strict laws; there is only one gun store in the whole of Mexico.

The government did in fact pass a decree in August that bans civilians from carrying arms in public in northern Colon province in an effort to curb violence in the area. However, this appears to have been more of a politically motivated move due to the selective nature of who the law applies to. The region is the site of an ongoing land conflict between farmers and big business. Farmers are banned from carrying weapons while business security guards are exempt from the law.

Of course, simply banning the sale of guns will not necessarily drive down homicide rates, as InSight Crime has noted. Honduras is one of Central America’s weakest countries in terms of institutional capacity and its security forces are notoriously corrupt. Strengthening institutional capacity and fighting corruption therefore need to be addressed alongside any proposal to decrease the number of arms legally available.

There is evidence that gun control laws can have the desired effect on violence. The Colombian capital Bogota imposed a ban on guns in public spaces in February and has since seen its homicide rate drop 21 percent this year compared to 2011, reaching a 27-year low based on statistics released last month. However, the criminal dynamics of the country (or city) play a vital role also. Medellin implemented its own ban in January yet has seen violence flare in parts of the city thanks to gangs battling for territorial control.

Conducting a thorough review of Honduras’ gun control policy is a vital step toward tackling the country’s violence problem, though this alone will not be enough. The CRSP has the potential to be a crucial instigator for the necessary legal and institutional reforms as the country attempts to extricate itself from rising homicide levels. The fact that it is apparently underfunded, though, raises questions about how sincere the government is about moving toward these goals.

– InSight Crime researches, analyzes, and investigates organized crime in the Americas. Find all of Edward Fox's research here.

Previous

1 | 2