Banning Assault Weapons Because of . . . Mexico?

I've been struggling over the past few weeks, trying to figure out how exactly the Libs are going to take their next step in the war on firearms rights in America. You know it's big on their wish lists and with all four branches of the government now being Democrat (the House, the Senate, the President, and the Media), it seems high time for them to come in together for the Big Win.

Unfortunately, it's not exactly a great time to try to introduce gun control legislation. There's that whole economy thing that us working stiffs want the government is fix. Gun ownership is also on the rise. Crime isn't out of control. And because of the realities of the post-911 world and the really choice way the government handled Katrina and Rita, a lot of people who would have never considered gun ownership in the past have stocked up on arms and ammunition.

Despite getting the Big O elected into office, things were looking pretty good for gun rights in America, especially with the recent DC vs. Heller decision, so you can imagine one might be inclined to let his guard down.

In fact, just last week I was talking to one of my friends at a local gunshow about how Obama never really introduced any new gun control legislation, and since he told Field and Stream he was really interested in any new gun laws, I was feeling pretty good about how we'd do over the next four years.

Then . . . wham! I saw it in this morning's Express News.

Gunrunners' land of plenty

A giant, front page headline. Even more relevant than the recent terrorist attacks in India, more alarming than our nation's financial crisis. All other stories bested by the news that over 1000 guns that were sourced in Texas have been used in crimes in Mexico.

I can see it now . . . since the primary "reason" assault rifles were banned in the 90s - the super crime wave hyped by the media that never came to fruition - is no longer a viable excuse, we are supposed to give up our gun rights because there are criminals doing horrible things in other countries.

Wow. I am just glad Texas doesn't export machetes to Africa!

Wait, I have an idea. Maybe since there are so many problems in central and south America due to America's drug habits, we should ban drugs here. Yes - more laws! That should stop the problem. Criminals will suddenly stop being criminals when they realize there are more laws against their crimes.

Oh wait. That didn't work so well, either.

Here's the crux of the article:

Last year, Texas sellers were the source of 1,131 guns found discarded at shootings in Mexico or confiscated from the cartel gangsters, according to the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. That’s more than twice the number of runner-up California and more than the combined total of 13 top other states.

I am not sure that's altogether too amazing considering the fact that you can't really buy guns in California and there are MILLIONS of gun owners in Texas.

It goes on to describe the nature of the weapons that these thugs in Mexico are so eager to get their hands on:

[Assault Rifles] are so prevalent these days that Mexico authorities have seized 13,000 of them in the last two years, along with thousands of other guns and 3 million rounds of smuggled ammunition, much of it also bought from U.S. retailers.

But wait a minute, I thought they said this was all coming through Texas and the US? I added up all of the numbers on their pretty chart and it totals 4,180 weapons for all of the United States (and BTW - remember that California - land of some of the strictest gun laws in Amercia was in 2nd place with 1006) - this means that the other 8,820 weapons are coming from somewhere other than the US.

In fact, the article also mentions:

Some of the hardware is military grade — rocket launchers and grenades coming into Mexico through Guatemala.

So maybe we need to have Guatemala get on board and get some of these gun laws going there, too?

Here's the deal, folks.

1) Despite what Hollyweird would have you believe (and I am not going to even bother listing all of the movies where this has happened), you can't just wander into a gun store or army-navy store and pick up machine guns and grenades and related military-grade ordinance.

2) Mexico is a corrupt, corrupt country where the almight peso (dollar) can make any of your dreams come true - regardless of what the laws say.

The problems that Mexico is having with gun smuggling isn't because gun laws are so lax in US, but because we have a completely porous border between us and Mexico. I know it isn't popular or hip to say that, but its a choice we're going to have to make as a society - open border (crime, illegal imigration, gun and human smuggling, TB, polio, etc) or closed border (social/political quagmire).

The article even states:

Someone would only have had to drive the guns over the international bridge and then 12 hours to Aguascalientes.

No mention or a search, scan or any type of countermeasures. Just driving over a bridge.

Guns that criminals use are almost always either stolen or purchased for the criminal by a family member. Or bought from some cash-strapped brothel owner at a shooting range. Seriously? That sounds like a judgement call to me and laws don't really do a lot of good to make folks have better judgement.

I think one of the respondents to the article said it best:

We had the assault weapons ban for 10 years. It didn't result in any reductions in crime. I have been in LE for over 30 years. Most of the guns we find in criminal situations are stolen! NOT BOUGHT ACROSS THE COUNTER OR AT GUN SHOWS! Criminals don't usually spend much money on their guns. They prefer buying stolen ones from druggies who need to support their drug habits. A Glock sells across the counter for $500 or more most places. The last one I came across was sold for $50 on the street. It was stolen from an apartment here in SA.

Lastly until Mexico decides it wants to be more then a Third World country they have to deal with their own problems. The article even points out that military armament is coming from Guatemala. I guess we're going to stop that too? With the money being generated from the sale of illegal drugs I would bet that they can buy any guns they want, any time they want. Who's going to stop them? Also please note that they aren't mentioning the AK47 that is coming from China and all parts of the far East by the hundreds of thousands. And sells for pennies compared to the American made AR15s. But then again we wouldn't expect the truth from the media. Just look at the last election for evidence of that.

Here. (San Antonio Express news - 11/30)

And here. (Houston Chronicle - 11/29)

Rest assured this is only the beginning of the "anti-gun" sentiments in the media and the first salvo in the latest war against our gun rights.

Obama's Question #59

A few stories have covered the ridiculously invasive list of questions posted by the New York Times as the official questionnaire being used to qualify folks for a top-level position in the Obama Administration.

After wading through question after question involving potential conflicts of interest, involvement with AIG and Freddie May/Fanny Mac, illegal immigrant nannies and/or servants, potentially damaging past associations, online habits, and controversial and/or candid diary entries, one would think that this would not only disqualify most folks currently living and/or working in Washington DC, but also most everyone living in America over the age of 10. I know we are all looking for the Big Change, but these questions could even disqualify The Man himself.

Of particular interest to our demographic, was one asking specifically about gun ownership of the would-be applicant:

(59) Do you or any members of your immediate family own a gun? If so, provide complete ownership and registration information. Has the registration ever lapsed? Please also describe how and by whom it is used and whether it has been the cause of any personal injuries or property damage.

Some interesting conjecture can arise from this question, most notably the inclusion of gun registration (which differs significantly in meaning and severity depending on geographic locale) and use of firearms in accidents that caused injury to people and/or property. Asking how it is used can also be used to differentiate from "approved" firearms usage - i.e. sporting clays, antique collections, etc. - from "unapproved" uses - like to protect one's family from violent criminals and misguided civilian national security forces gone wild.

Don't be surprised if this is a potential foreshadowing of the aforementioned change to our national gun registration policies, as well as opening up firearms manufacturers to more of the ridiculous litigation that Obama and his ilk are so fond of.

Here's the full list of questions.

Paintball this weekend - Orion Valley - November 15, 2008

We will be playing this Saturday, November 15th in the Valley.

Bring plenty of water/gatorade, etc. The weather looks like it is going to be great, but there should be some rain this week, which can make it nice and muddy, so that should be fun.

If you had planned on bringing on someone as a guest this weekend, just remember that they should be there no earlier than 9:45am. And also please let me know in advance, so that we can have some gear put aside for them.

RSVP via email or Facebook . . .

See everyone there!

More Obama Gun Fun

No sooner had I pulled the trigger on my last post then I realized that there was a veritable full magazine of online articles discussing everyone's fears about gun rights under an Obama presidency.

Gun sales surge after Obama's election

"I have been in business for 12 years, and I was here for Y2K, September 11, Katrina," Conatser said, as a steady stream of customers browsed what remained of his stock. "And all of those were big events, and we did notice a spike in business, but nothing on the order of what we are seeing right now."

Weapons dealers in much of the United States are reporting sharply higher sales since Barack Obama won the presidency a week ago.

Buyers and sellers attribute the surge to worries that Obama and a Democratic-controlled Congress will move to restrict firearm ownership, despite the insistence of campaign aides that the president-elect supports gun rights and considers the issue a low priority.

"I believe the Second Amendment means something. I do think it speaks to an individual right," Obama said in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in February.

With the U.S. economy in a tailspin, however, the president-elect's advisers say gun legislation is not a high priority.

The October '08 issue of Field and Stream had extensive interviews with both Obama and McCain detailing their opinions on hunting and fishing, gun rights, and conservation. The message from Obama was pretty clear,

"I'm more interested in enforcing the laws that we do have - for example tracing guns that are used in crimes back to people who have been using them. I don't anticipate that there's going to be a whole slew of efforts at the federal level when it comes to gun control. "

However this still hasn't dissuaded anyone from considering him an anti-gun politician, and his record of past votes lies in stark contrast to his election promises.

Apparently, no one is convinced that "common-sense measures" aren't a thinly-disguised metaphor for yet another round of new legislation on "ugly guns."

The good news is that none of this legislation ever happens quickly - and the national economy is a far more pressing issue at this time - but one thing that is apparent is shooters generally aren't getting the warm and fuzzy from Obama on gun rights - despite everything he has said to the contrary.

I understand the reason why everyone is running out and arming up - there are more cool innovations in modern weapons technology available now then ever before:

• Civilian legal FN P90s
• Mad amounts of AR upgrades (Go LaRue!)
• USCM-inspired HK G36-clones
• 37mm flare launchers - oh, my!
  

But it is important to also realize that the focus must remain on preserving our rights - not just so we can go to gun shows and exercise the right our Constitution guarantees, but to fight to preserve these rights so that those who haven't yet gone to gunshows or been to a shooting range - will get the same opportunities that we did.

Get involved!
Gun Owners of America
Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership
The National Rifle Association

Couldn't see this one coming . . .

Ok - so I am trying to not get a whole mess (literally) of politics into this blog, but this one is notable for the gun show culture. We've all been taking about the inevitability of Obama and what that has to do with 2nd Amendment rights - and apparently this is a sentiment shared fairly generally with gun enthusiasts.

Run on Guns After Obama Wins



Full article.

And another from before the election.