A new study released by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) reveals that "Over 90 percent of the firearms seized in Mexico and traced over the last 3 years have come from the United States" and that "the firearms seized in Mexico have been increasingly more powerful and lethal in recent years."
So much for NRA chief Wayne LaPierre's oft-repeated claim that Mexican gun traffickers don't bother to "trifle with paperwork at U.S. gun stores."
But how about the NRA's argument that the trace data shouldn't be relied upon since not every seized gun is traced through the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) eTrace system (ignoring the inconvenient fact that not all crime guns here in the good old U.S. of A are traced either). The report finds:
"While the eTrace data only represents data from gun trace requests submitted from seizures in Mexico and not all the guns seized, it is currently the only systematic data available, and the conclusions from its use that the majority of firearms seized and traced originated in the United States were consistent with conclusions reached by U.S. and Mexican government and law enforcement officals involved personally in combating arms trafficking to Mexico."
After explaining the bureaucratic and technical obstacles faced by the Mexican government in ramping up its tracing efforts (noting that some of the same type of "bureaucratic and resource challenges faced in Mexico" are also faced in the U.S.) the study reiterates that:
Consistent with the results of eTrace data, U.S. law enforcement officials who had worked on arms trafficking in Mexico and along the U.S.-Mexican border told us their experience and observations corroborated that most of the firearms in Mexico had originated in the United States. Furthermore, U.S. and Mexican government and law enforcement officials also stated this scenario seemed most likely, given the ease of acquiring firearms in the United States; specifically, they told us they saw no reason why the drug cartels would go through the difficulty of acquiring a gun somewhere else in the world and tranporting it to Mexico when it is so easy for them to do so from the United States.
Well, who are you going to believe? The law enforcement personnel who actually face down drug and gun traffickers on the U.S.-Mexico border, or Mr. LaPierre, who spends his time traveling I-66 between the NRA's headquarters and the studios of Fox News.
And what about LaPierre's assertions that Mexico's drug cartels actually spurn the military style weaponry freely available in the U.S. civilian market and instead purchase full-auto machine guns on "the transnational black market. " The GAO study finds that:
there have been some examples of military grade firearms recovered in Mexico. Some of these recovered firearms, ATF officials noted, were guns commercially available in the United States that were altered to make them more lethal. For instance, AK-type and AR-15 type semiautomatic rifles have been altered to make them fully automatic, like machine guns used by the U.S. and Mexican militaries. Seventy machine guns were submitted for tracing to ATF beween fiscal year 2004 and fiscal year 2008, which represents a small percentage, 0.30 percent, of the total number of 23,159.
That's 0.30 percent.
Will these new facts have any effect on the NRA? Of course not. Why would they? Facts don't matter to the gun lobby. In fact, it's information that they fear the most (e.g. Tiahrt Amendment). The goal of the NRA and its gun industry partners is to sell as many guns as possible--regardless of where they end up or how they're used. More dollars for the industry. More potential supporters for the NRA. And if it means you're going to end up with a de facto border war on America's southern flank, well, that's the "price of freedom."
Will these new facts have any effect on the Obama Admininistration, which with the stroke of a pen could use its executive powers to strictly enforce existing restrictions on the import of "non-sporting" weapons such as AK-47 and PS90 assault rifles (a ban--separate from the now-expired 1994 federal assault weapons ban--first imposed by the George H.W. Bush Administration, tightened up by the Clinton Administration in the wake of gun industry efforts to evade it, and abandoned by the George W. Bush Administration).
That remains to be seen.
Follow Josh Sugarmann on Twitter: www.twitter.com/VPCinfo
--Jess Ford GAO
And who would be 'misreporting' that?
Far more believable is this excerpt from LA Times report: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-guatemala-drugs4-2009jun04,3,1022265,full.story
"The gangs are also ferrying military-style weapons north into Mexico to fight Calderon's forces and opposing gangsters while also vying to take over street sales in Guatemala. Some of the weapons are left over from the wars that the United States helped fight in Central America -- including here in Guatemala, which is still recovering from its 36-year civil war."
Mor particularly:
On July 13, 2005 (during the Bush Administration) ATF imposed a brand new ban on the importation of barrels and receivers. This was a cumulative regulation -- in addition to the 1989, 1991, and 1998 "sporting purposes" revisions that had taken place under Bush I and Clinton. See http://www.atf.gov/firearms/071305openletter.htm; see also http://www.atf.gov/firearms/062508openletter-licensedimporters.pdf.
In addition, during the Bush Administration, ATF made the "sporting purposes" test significantly more restrictive by imposing a flat ban on any semi-automatic rifles that accept staggered magazines of any sort. The most recent revision (1998) had only restricted the importation of rifles that accept one of six specified magazines. See generally http://www.atf.gov/firearms/assault/report.htm.
This is a classic "bait and switch" -- after making the false statement that import restrictions have been "abandoned," Mr. Sugarmann goes on to suggest more restrictions on design features with a "military" apperance. The reality is that Mr. Sugarmann is simply looking for any available excuse to justify new restrictions on civilian firearms ownership, regardless of whether that excuse has any basis in fact.
The current talking point is "domestic terrorism" and the NRA's "encouragment" of right-wing violence.
The Mexico canard has been debunked already.
Hasn't the Joyce Foundation given you the updates yet?
In 2007-2008, the Mexican government recovered 29,000 firearms at crimescenes in Mexico. Agent Newell reports that Mexico submitted 11,000 guns to the ATF for tracing. Out of that 11,000, only 6,000 were successfully traced - and out of that, 5,114, or 90%, actually came from the US.
The bottom line: only 17% of firearms used in Mexican violent crimes originate from the US.
Firearms made in America are produced with a traceable serial number on them, which originates back to the specific producer of the firearm.
In 2007-2008, the Mexican government recovered 29,000 firearms at crimescenes in Mexico. Agent Newell reports that Mexico submitted 11,000 guns to the ATF for tracing. Out of that 11,000, only 6,000 were successfully traced - and out of that, 5,114, or 90%, actually came from the US.
The bottom line: only 17% of firearms used in Mexican violent crimes originate from the US.
The manuel you are talking about was found in an empty house in Kabul. There is no way to know who wrote it or if it actually had any connection to Al Qaeda. Furthermore, there is no evidence of al-Qaeda ever buying weapons at a gun show in the U. S.
Well, unless you figure the actual goal, was to make sure most young ambitious energetic black men are locked up in stir and have their lives completely ruined, so they can't be out here running around loose affecting society, by getting decent jobs, and voting. If you look at it that way, the War on Drugs has been a raging success.
Law of unintended consequences. Solve a far away problem; have it replaced by a closer one.
"Despite these programs Colombia remains the leading producer of coca with approximately 70% of the total share and dominates approximately 90% of the cocaine processing market in the world.[1]"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narcotrafficking_in_Colombia
Government is the problem ..... not the solution.
--R. Reagan
And while I believe we should get tough on Mexico and police the border.........we are busy in Iraq when those resources could have been used much more wisely here at home.
But keep them out of Mexico.
They can be purchased through legal means by law abiding Mexicans.
The problem is that you Americans supply criminals with guns.
This is not a supply/demand issue.
The reality is the really important gun for the cartels is the fully automatic AK-47, a weapon not readily available in this country. There are millions floating all around the world. It’s the most widely produced assault rifle in the world. Those guns are not coming from the U.S., but from all over Latin America and other parts of the world.
The problem is that Mexico is getting closer and closer to being a failed state. They don't invest in education. Most Mexicans are anti-intellectual, they have too many children, they do not invest in their infrustructure and, they are not serious about ending corruption in their government.
Until Mexicans demand more they will get less. Its really that simple. NAFTA is also a disaster. for them too. But they agreed to it too.
This is one of the best lines in the entire story. When are the republicans going to wake up, oh that's right NEVER. Not as long as the NRA is giving them millions of dollars to make sure any and every nut job that wants a gun has every right to buy a gun. They don't care how many women, children and law enforcement personal are killed. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!!!!!!
Meanwhile, the fact remains that law enforcement is overwhelmingly in favor of gun rights:
From a 2005 police survey:
http://www.aphf.org/surveyresults.pdf
* 92% of the respondents supported civilian gun-ownership rights for sport and self defense;
* 95% of the police chiefs and sheriffs believe criminals obtain firearms from illegal sources
* 60% believe a system of nationwide concealed carry would reduce violent crime.
House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere: "Guns, Drugs and Violence: The Merida Initiative and the Challenge in Mexico"
http://foreignaffairs.house.gov/hearing_notice.asp?id=1055
Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs: "Law Enforcement Responses to Mexican Drug Cartels"
http://judiciary.senate.gov/hearings/hearing.cfm?id=3718
Certainly not what the anti politicians and pundits have been saying.