Bill 59.

Summary.

The bill adds an agricultural-use firearms category to Law 57 of May 29, 2011, the General Law on Firearms, Ammunition and Related Materials. It covers firearms intended to protect crops, farm animals or wild species when used by farmers or peasants. Their use would be confined to rural areas and those purposes. The category includes 12-gauge shotguns and .22-caliber rifles.

Agricultural-use firearms and ammunition would be registered with the municipality where the farmer or peasant who owns the firearm resides. The municipality would record the owner's full name and full address, together with the firearm's make and registration or serial number. It would also issue a possession and carrying document authorizing use of the firearm within the corregimiento (district) or districts containing the applicant's work areas. The municipality would send certified copies of these records to the Institutional Directorate for Public Security Affairs (DIASP) of the Ministry of Security (Ministerio de Seguridad) for oversight. A firearm transported for agricultural purposes would have to be unloaded and kept out of sight during transport.

To obtain the possession and carrying certificate, an applicant would have to be at least eighteen years old and present the firearm to the municipality so that its make and serial number could be recorded. The applicant would also have to complete the municipality's registration form, provide a plain copy of their personal identity card and document how the firearm was acquired. A new firearm would require a purchase invoice; a secondhand firearm, a transfer form; and an old firearm or one received as a family inheritance, a sworn statement. The application would further require two passport-size photographs, a certificate valid for 6 months showing a negative drug-test result, and a certificate attesting to good mental health. Applications for agricultural-use possession and carrying would be exempt from national or municipal fees.

The bill expressly repeals Article 82 of Law 57 of May 29, 2011. It also states generally that it amends and adds articles to that law. It provides that its provisions would take effect one year after promulgation.

Under the functions assigned in the text, the bill concerns municipalities responsible for registration and for issuing the possession and carrying document, as well as DIASP within the Ministry of Security, which would receive certified copies for oversight. Its provisions could be relevant to farmers and peasants who own firearms, people working in rural areas, and the agricultural and livestock sectors.