Morelos Legalizes Use of Various Defensive Weapons For Women

“MX” for Borderland Beat

The Mexican state of Morelos has legalized the use of various nonlethal defensive weapons for women due to the rising femicides and violent attacks against women in recent years.

The weapons that can be used include retractable batons, pepper spray, and tasers. This law change is rare in Mexico, where the use of weapons (including those for self-defense) is generally illegal and punishable with prison time.

The law was first presented by National Regeneration Movement (Morena) deputy Ariadna Barrera Vazquez in February 2020. It was approved last December and is now in full effect.

She presented data since 2018 that showed that more than 82% of women felt unsafe in public. There were at least 84 femicides in Morelos in 2020, and at least 10 since the start of this year.

“Violence against women is a reality, … I dare to say that 10 out of 10 women have been victims of some kind of gender violence,” Barrera said in Congress.

Prior to the legal preform, possession of nonlethal weapons alone — such as pepper spray and tasers — was punishable by up to three years in prison. Only a few states in Mexico have passed laws to allow women to carry self-defense weapons, like Puebla, which approved it in 2018.

Barrera said that the minimum prison term of someone convicted of sexual assault in Mexico is two years, less than what women can get for simply carrying a nonlethal self-defense weapon to protect themselves. She said it was wrong for someone trying to defend themselves to theoretically go to prison for longer than the aggressor.

The legalization of women’s rights to carry self-defense weapons was not positively received by all women groups, however. One such group, the Huitzitzilin, said that this law was not a solution to the problem. She argued that the government should aim at reducing violence to society in general and that women would feel safer if police knew how to respond in cases of gender violence.

“I believe there are a lot of tools that we could use to build peace” instead of arming women, said Ana Carina Chumacero, the President of Huitzitzilin.

Mexico has strict laws prohibiting the use of most weapons, including firearms. Although the right to bear arms is granted in the Mexican Constitution, federal law stipulates that the government “will determine the cases, conditions, requirements and places” of gun ownership.

There is only one store in Mexico where people can legally purchase firearms. It is in a heavily guarded military base in Mexico City, and buyers must undergo long background checks and fill out loads of paperwork before they are even considered. Person-to-person firearm sales are illegal, and calibers are restricted to .380 or less.

Sources: El Debate; El Universal; MND; Borderland Beat archives