GunsMexican officials hope for real changes in U.S. gun policy
The majority of the guns used in drug-related violence in Mexico have come from the United States. Numbers from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco Firearms and Explosives show that almost 70 percent of the 99,000 weapons seized in Mexico in 2012 came from the United States. Mexican officials are hoping that president Obama’s speeches on changing the U.S. gun policy will be more than just talk.
Arrested cartel members with captured weapons // Source: ali213.net
Mexican officials are hoping that president Obama’s speeches on changing the U.S. gun policy will be more than just talk. These officials have spent years criticizing U.S. gun policies, blaming much of the drug violence in Mexico on weapons trafficking from the U. S., the result of the expiration of the assault weapons ban in 2004.
CNN reports that the Mexican ambassador to the United States, Eduardo Medina Mora, says that the second amendment, perversely, is paramount in the cartel wars that have taken place in Mexico.
“The Second Amendment … is not, was never and should not be designed to arm foreign criminal groups,” Mora told media members.
Obama last week announced a series of executive actions to crack down on gun violence in the United States, and Mora hopes that Mexico will benefit as a result.
Mora said that Mexico will continue to push for better U.S. gun regulation and that reinstating the assault weapons ban is one constitutional option.
“There is certainly a statistical correlation between the end of this measure and the increase in the firepower of foreign criminal groups, particular those that operate out of our country,” Mora told CNN.
Felipe Calderon, who was the president of Mexico in 2004 when the assault ban expired, said at the time the increase in gun violence was a direct result of the ban not being continued.
“The criminals have become more and more vicious in their eagerness to spark fear and anxiety in society,” Calderon said at the time. “One of the main factors that allow criminals to strengthen themselves is the unlimited access to high-powered weapons, which are sold freely, and also indiscriminately, in the United States of America.”
The majority of the guns used in drug-related violence in Mexico have come from the United States. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco Firearms and Explosives said last year that almost 70 percent of the 99,000 weapons seized in Mexico were from the United States.
In an effort to curb gun violence, Mexico City has started an exchange program last month. HHundreds of guns were handed in for money vouchers. Kids were also allowed to exchange toy guns for bikes, electronic devices and toys.
