{"id":1114,"date":"2009-03-17T22:36:50","date_gmt":"2009-03-18T06:36:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/2009\/03\/17\/our-deadliest-export\/"},"modified":"2009-03-19T17:14:00","modified_gmt":"2009-03-20T01:14:00","slug":"our-deadliest-export","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/1114\/our-deadliest-export\/","title":{"rendered":"Our Deadliest Export"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"mexweapons1.jpg\"
\nWeapons seized in Mexico include 18 US made M-16 assault rifles,
\nat least one equipped with an M-203 40mm grenade launcher,
\nseveral M-4 carbines, 17 handguns of various calibers,
\nover 200 magazines for different weapons,
\nand more than 8,000 rounds of ammunition,
\nassault vests and other military accessories.
\nPhoto: Northeast Intelligence Network<\/strong><\/p>\n

By Ralph E. Stone<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

March 18, 2009<\/p>\n

It is estimated that the Mexican “war on drugs” has resulted in more than 8,000 deaths in the last three years, with more than 1,000 so far in 2009 alone. Those murdered include judges, police, witnesses, journalists, and innocent citizens. There is a growing perception among Mexicans and here in the United States that Mexico is losing the war against these well-armed drug cartels. The violence is already spilling over into the U.S., causing alarm among politicians in Washington and citizens in states bordering Mexico. In fact, the cartels have actually expanded production into northern California federal and state parklands.<\/p>\n

The U.S. is finally focusing on the source of the weapons used in these killings, 90 percent of which — about 2,000 per day — were smuggled into Mexico from the U.S. and then used in 95 percent of the killings there.<\/p>\n

For the period October 1, 2004 to September 30, 2007, Weapons found discarded at shootings in Mexico or confiscated from the drug cartels were traced to 15 states. Texas sellers were the source of 2,085 weapons. California was runner-up with 1,006. Texas and California together are the source of more than the combined total of weapons from the other 13 states. An untold number of guns couldn’t be traced or are still in the hands of the drug cartels.<\/p>\n

Under Mexico’s strict regulations, it is against the law to own or sell armor-piercing penetrating assault rifles and semiautomatic pistols. But they are legally available in sporting goods stores and gun shows in the U.S. where straw men buy them and then smuggle them into Mexico. And weapons are easy to purchase in the U.S. Now, U.S. law only requires that dealers run an instant FBI background check to make sure the potential buyer has no felony convictions, is a U.S. citizen, and then requires the buyer to sign a form attesting that the weapon is not for someone else.<\/p>\n

The Mexican drug cartels are not only well-armed but flush with cash. Ninety percent of all cocaine that ends up in the U.S. moves through Mexico, resulting in an estimated $10 billion in profit. The illicit drugs flow north and the weapons flow south.<\/p>\n

We have heard the old canard that “people, not guns, kill people.” Actually, it is people with guns that kill the most people. Obviously, the U.S. and Mexico must place more emphasis on catching gunrunners and tightening and enforcing the laws regarding the sale and purchase of weapons in the U.S. It won’t be easy. Efforts to control gun sales will undoubtedly be challenged in light of last year’s U.S. Supreme Court decision — District of Columbia v. Heller — finding a Constitutional right for individuals to “keep and bear arms.” Fortunately, the National Rifle Association has had little success so far overturning existing gun control laws, but it is probably poised to challenge any new gun control laws proposed by Congress or the White House.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Weapons seized in Mexico include 18 US made M-16 assault rifles, at least one equipped with an M-203 40mm grenade launcher, several M-4 carbines, 17 handguns of various calibers, over 200 magazines for different weapons,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1230,"featured_media":1113,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[222,19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1114","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-opinion"],"yoast_head":"\nOur Deadliest Export - Fog City Journal<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/1114\/our-deadliest-export\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Our Deadliest Export - Fog City Journal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Weapons seized in Mexico include 18 US made M-16 assault rifles, at least one equipped with an M-203 40mm grenade launcher, several M-4 carbines, 17 handguns of various calibers, over 200 magazines for different weapons,…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/1114\/our-deadliest-export\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Fog City Journal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/fogcityjournal\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2009-03-18T06:36:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2009-03-20T01:14:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/plugins\/2009\/03\/mexweapons1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"371\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Ralph E. 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