Wearing a black T-shirt with the words “Bolsonaro” and a skull and crossbones on it, Brazilian ex-cop Elitusalem Gomes Freitas takes aim with his .40 caliber and fires, enjoying the smell of gunpowder as he pins his target.

At a shooting range in the Rio de Janeiro suburbs, Freitas clutches his bulky black rifle, a pistol strapped to his thigh, proudly repeating a maxim of far-right President Jair Bolsonaro: “An armed population will never be enslaved.”

Freitas is part of a population booming in Bolsonaro’s Brazil: Since the former army captain became president in 2019, the number of registered gun owners has more than quintupled from 117,000 to 673,000 as the government relaxed gun control laws.

There are now more civilian gun owners than police officers in Brazil – 406,384.

That’s making some Brazilians nervous as the country heads for a divisive presidential election on October 2, pitting Bolsonaro against his left-wing nemesis, ex-President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (2003-2010), who leads the polls.

Citing fears of electoral violence, the Supreme Court last week temporarily suspended several of Bolsonaro’s gun control rollbacks. The week before, the Superior Electoral Tribunal (TSE) had banned voters from bringing guns into polling stations.

Like Bolsonaro, Freitas is not a fan of the electoral authority, which the president accuses of allowing what he is – without evidence – to be rampant fraud in Brazil’s electronic voting system.

After inspecting the white target he just filled with holes, Freitas, 42, says he is ready to take up arms if necessary to defend Brazil’s “freedom”.

“I cannot allow half a dozen people (the judges of the TSE) to decide the fate of our nation against the will of the people. The right to bear arms guarantees our freedom and defends our sovereignty against the enemy within,” he says.

But he adds that Brazil’s growing gun-owning class has nothing to fear.

“It’s not about arming everyone. It’s about giving good citizens the right to access and learn to use a firearm.”

Security expert Bruno Langeani says hardliners willing to take up arms in the name of politics are a minority in Brazil.

But he emphasizes that “even a minority can cause great harm if they become radicalized,” and refers to the rioters who stormed the US Capitol last year after the election defeat of ex-President Donald Trump – Bolsonaro’s political role model.

Langeani says the massive increase in gun ownership in Brazil will be a “cursed legacy” that could fuel violence for years to come.

“A civilian can now buy more powerful weapons than the police,” he says.

“Licensed hunters, marksmen and collectors may own up to 60 firearms per person, including 30 assault rifles.”

According to the Brazilian Public Safety Forum, 4.4 million firearms are in civilian hands in Brazil, a country of 212 million people.

A third of them have expired permits.

Bolsonaro points to a decline in murders as proof of the success of his gun policy: last year the number of homicides fell by 13 percent.

However, the number of firearm homicides increased by 24 percent, according to the Health Ministry.

Around 1,000 shooting clubs — members-only shooting ranges — have opened in Brazil since Bolsonaro took office, according to army figures quoted by online news site UOL.

“When the government made it easier to buy firearms, I said, ‘We have to jump on that,'” says former police officer Marcelo Costa, president of the club where Freitas practices, Mil Armas (Thousand Firearms), which opened four years ago before.

Costa runs the club with his two sons, both in their 20s and both gun lovers. His wife, a psychologist, is licensed by the authorities to conduct the obligatory psychological screening of all new members.

The club, which has strict safety protocols, offers classes for members and legal advice for those wishing to obtain a gun license.

Members can rent or buy guns from the club’s vast arsenal at prices ranging from 5,000 to 20,000 reais ($950 to $3,800).

“It’s like a mall. We have everything,” says Costa, who offers the option to buy guns in up to 12 installments with no interest.