Gunreference1
07-21-2010, 12:38 PM
Mexico calls for weapons crackdown
By SCOTT WONG | 7/20/10 12:17 PM EDT
Mexico’s ambassador to the United States, Arturo Sarukhan, appealed to Congress and the Obama administration on Tuesday to help prevent organized criminals in his country from illegally buying and smuggling weapons from the U.S.
Border violence related to drug, weapons and human trafficking has claimed thousands of lives in recent years. And with Mexico’s strict gun-control laws, law enforcement officials estimate that cartels are purchasing nearly all of their assault weapons and other guns from American vendors.
In Texas border towns alone, there are about 7,000 gun shops, Sarukhan said.
“Regardless of what I may think of the Second Amendment and regardless of whether I think you need to buy armor-piercing ammo to hunt deer or not, Mexico is not challenging the Second Amendment. That is a sovereign decision of Congress; that is a sovereign decision of the American people,” Sarukhan said during a Capitol Hill panel discussion on border violence.
“What we are asking the U.S. to do is help us enforce what’s on the books, help us improve the U.S.’s ability to prevent weapons crossing, and to investigate who and how the drug syndicates are purchasing weapons on this side of the border.”
Sarukhan, speaking to about 100 people during an event sponsored by moderate think tank Third Way, praised the Obama administration for committing additional manpower and resources to beef up border security. But he urged the American government to prevent people from countries that ban assault weapons from being able to buy them in the U.S.
“It won’t magically solve the issue of violence in Mexico if we were to shut down the flow of weapons into Mexico tomorrow. It won’t terminate the problem,” Sarukhan said. “But it will allow the Mexican authorities to not call in the 7th Cavalry every time local and state law enforcement are confronted with the firepower of the drug syndicates, and our 7th Cavalry are our armed forces.”
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0710/39957.html
Steve
By SCOTT WONG | 7/20/10 12:17 PM EDT
Mexico’s ambassador to the United States, Arturo Sarukhan, appealed to Congress and the Obama administration on Tuesday to help prevent organized criminals in his country from illegally buying and smuggling weapons from the U.S.
Border violence related to drug, weapons and human trafficking has claimed thousands of lives in recent years. And with Mexico’s strict gun-control laws, law enforcement officials estimate that cartels are purchasing nearly all of their assault weapons and other guns from American vendors.
In Texas border towns alone, there are about 7,000 gun shops, Sarukhan said.
“Regardless of what I may think of the Second Amendment and regardless of whether I think you need to buy armor-piercing ammo to hunt deer or not, Mexico is not challenging the Second Amendment. That is a sovereign decision of Congress; that is a sovereign decision of the American people,” Sarukhan said during a Capitol Hill panel discussion on border violence.
“What we are asking the U.S. to do is help us enforce what’s on the books, help us improve the U.S.’s ability to prevent weapons crossing, and to investigate who and how the drug syndicates are purchasing weapons on this side of the border.”
Sarukhan, speaking to about 100 people during an event sponsored by moderate think tank Third Way, praised the Obama administration for committing additional manpower and resources to beef up border security. But he urged the American government to prevent people from countries that ban assault weapons from being able to buy them in the U.S.
“It won’t magically solve the issue of violence in Mexico if we were to shut down the flow of weapons into Mexico tomorrow. It won’t terminate the problem,” Sarukhan said. “But it will allow the Mexican authorities to not call in the 7th Cavalry every time local and state law enforcement are confronted with the firepower of the drug syndicates, and our 7th Cavalry are our armed forces.”
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0710/39957.html
Steve