U.S. Guns In Mexico

A week or two ago I had an email exchange with an NCKU student about Mexico. Today, the Taipei Times carries an AP story, sarcastically and idiotically entitled "Surprise Surprise", on the Senate report by two of the usual scumbags - Dianne Feinstein and Chucky Schumer. Feinstein, readers must know, is practically a bought-and-paid-for operative of the PRC.

The Senate report claims that 70% of firearms recovered by Mexican police from the drug cartels originated from the U.S. and then of course, goes on to link this to the lifting of the ban on assault rifles in 2004.

I haven't checked it yet but I'm betting it's the same bullshit that I warned the student about - that 70% figure represents those weapons that can be traced (i.e. those with serial numbers on and which were therefore sold legally at some point in their history). The critical thing to understand is that this figure is a small fraction of the total number of firearms used by the drug cartels in Mexico, with the vast majority of weapons being untraceable (i.e. with no serial numbers).

Of the traceable weapons recovered, some - perhaps even most - will likely have entered the hands of Mexican drug cartels either through leakages from within the Mexican military and police forces (both of which purchase firearms from the U.S.) with the remainder of those weapons being obtained illegally (i.e. theft).

Of the untraceable weapons, some of those may be manufactured in the U.S. (and if they are, then clearly the BATFE isn't doing its' purported job properly and should be abolished [of course it should be abolished anyway on general principle]), but a good proportion of the remainder will have arrived from South America.

To try to tie the prescence of weapons traced back to the U.S. to the lifting of the ban on assault rifles in 2004 is disingenuous nonsense, intended for no other purpose but to give cheap, fake ammunition to advocates of further gun control in the U.S. which is exactly what to expect of Senators Feinstein and Schumer, both of whom are surely serious contenders for title of "Most Evil Congressional Entity". And President Calderon? Here's a quote:

“I accuse the US weapons industry of [responsibility for] the deaths of thousands of people that are occurring in Mexico...”

I don't know what game he's playing (though I can guess), but that sort of statement could be read as his personal bet on the future of the U.S. 2nd Amendment.

I have the same bet.