September 2008

In the initial post Gunz N Mexico I referenced an article in the Dallas Morning News that quoted an ATF agent as stating…

“Right now, we know Texas is the No. 1 source of weapons smuggled into Mexico, with most of them coming from Houston and Dallas,” Mr. Webb said.

Now the ATF is targeting California as a major supplier of guns to the Mexican drug gangs. But wait, California? Don’t they have strict gun laws that would prevent the gangs from getting the guns in the first place? Heck, they don’t even allow folks to buy guns at gun shows.

The ATF explains in the article Guns move south via Inland gangs:

The majority of guns moved through California come from other states, such as Arizona and Nevada, where laws are less restrictive than California’s 30-day waiting period and assault rifle ban. The weapons can then be transported south, but local authorities believe a portion of them remain in Inland cities.

Okay, it is the other states fault that California gangs have guns. More of the same ‘ol same ‘ol. How about we start holding California responsible for exporting the extremely violent gangs that cut their teeth in Los Angeles to us? These gangs are now nation wide and guns, drugs, money and bodies travel North, South, East and West without hindrance. Maybe if California would put an end to the gangs, they would put an end to the majority of their drug/gun problems.

Earlier in the article the author stated:

ATF estimates that 95 percent of the weapons currently in Mexico are American made and a portion are moving south of the border through the Inland region.

That is a pretty easy estimate for the ATF to make. The Mexican military and police purchase their firearms from American manufacturers. So yes, since Mexican civilians are not allowed to own firearms for protection, at least 95% of the firearms in Mexico are held by the military and police and therefore are made in America. Some guns may even be smuggled into Mexico from California, so that part of the statement is also easy to make. But let us be honest here folks, it is no secret that corruption runs rampant in the Mexican military and throughout many of their police forces. Many, I would even say a majority, of the firearms in the hands of the drug cartels come directly from the Mexican military and police forces. Other guns cross Mexico’s Southern border. This blaming Americans for the drug gang problems in Mexico is just plain lucridous and it has gotten beyond annoying.

The drug gangs on both sides of the border are evil, violent atrocities that should have never been allowed to grow into the cancer that they have become. But don’t blame gun shows and Americans for their existence, and stop blaming us for the guns that they have accumulated.

Steve over at The Firearm Blog posted this image of members of the Mexican military on parade with Barrett .50BMG’s. How long do you think it will be before some of these are in the hands of the drug gangs? Remember this image when the ATF and a compliant news organization starts bemoaning the influx of .50 caliber weapons in the hands of the drug gangs.