rpleger - 5-31-2005 at 09:01 AM
From BajaSunDog
Date: Sun, 29 May 2005 16:58:41 -0000
From: "so_of_the_bordermx" <so_of_the_bordermx@yahoo.com>
Subject: Mexico seeks to curb massive illegal weapons market
Mexico seeks to curb massive illegal weapons market
Photograph by : JC. Cortaza
Story by : Brian Levinson
Mexican law is strict when it comes to gun control, and has been
called "draconian" by gun advocates in the United States. But lack of
enforcement has allowed a massive black market to flourish.
There are 1.5 million legally owned guns in Mexico, but another two
to 15 million are floating somewhere below the official radar,
according to some estimates.
A new law, passed by Mexico's House of Representative and awaiting
passage in the Senate, seeks to establish some much needed authority
when it comes to weapons control but threatens to aggravate
libertarians by limiting the number of guns allowed per capita, and
giving the Mexican Army greater powers to hunt down illegal weapons.
The "New Federal Law of Firearms, Explosives and Pyrotechnics" will
permit only two guns per household, and add prohibitions on the use
of .357 caliber pistols and shotguns with barrels that measure less
than 635 mm. Citizens will apply for a gun license with photo
identification from the Ministry of National Defense.
Dante Haro, a penal law expert at the University of Guadalajara,
says "the current law has failed" but he looks favorably upon the new
legislation.
"Here in Mexico there is not much follow-up or control, and little
data," says Haro. "The new law will try to recognize where the
pistols and the guns are, and who owns them."
The new law will maintain the strict regulations at the Mexican
border, where U.S. citizens transporting weapons without proper
authorization have been handed lengthy jail sentences in recent years.
Earlier this month, two off-duty U.S. border patrol agents were
caught in Mexicali with more than 1,000 rifle bullets. Their case
remains pending.
Foreigners living in Mexico are permitted gun licenses under both the
current and proposed laws, according to a spokesman at the Ministry
of National Defense.
For the new gun law to work, federal institutions will need to
streamline their bureaucratic procedures so that foreigners and
especially Mexicans are not dissuaded from licensing their weapons.
One reason for the country's large black market in weapons, according
to Marcela Sanchez of The Washington Post, is that Mexico
leaves "people with little option other than resorting to illegal
means to obtain them."
Bruce R Leech - 6-1-2005 at 08:18 PM
thanks Richard that is very interesting reading. now we will just need to Waite and see what they do with the new Law.
Oso - 6-1-2005 at 09:31 PM
Uh huh, yeah right. Mexicans have been through gun registration before and (as the NRA might have predicted), the government used the registration
lists to locate the weapons they wanted to confiscate when the statutes changed.
IMHO, the majority of Mexican Citizens now in possesion of firearms (especially Saturday Night Specials) will ignore this "new" government ploy and
not bother registering anything. The only ones who will comply, IN PART, will be the sportsmen who already belong to hunting clubs and wish to
purchase/import quality rifles and shotguns for open, legal hunts.
Back in NC, my friends from Guerrero were always bugging me to buy "Cuernos de Chivo" ( Norinco MAK90's and other semi-auto knockoffs of AK-47's) for
them at the gun shows. "What the hell do you want with that?", I'd ask. "They're not that accurate for hunting and if the army catches you with it,
you'll be in deep caca." "Maybe," they'd reply, " but we need them for our work."