Feinstein Urges Tougher Gun Laws to Prevent Mexico Violence...

[spin]

Senator Dianne Feinstein wants to toughen U.S. gun laws to prevent violence in Mexico. Tanya Snyder reports.

At a Senate committee hearing Tuesday, Feinstein recounted a recent meeting she had with the Mexican ambassador to the U.S.

"I have never seen deeper concern on an ambassador's face," she said.

At the ambassador's urging, Feinstein sent letters last week to President Obama and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, urging them to take action against illegal arms trafficking. More than ninety percent of the weapons seized by law enforcement in Mexico come from the United States.
http://www.kpbs.org/news/local?id=14130

It easy to see the future path of the gun control advocates. Here is an interesting column dated Thursday, March 19 from conservative columnist George Will:

PHOENIX -- X-Caliber, a gun store in a nondescript neighborhood in this city's northern section, has become embroiled in Mexico's turmoil. The chaos in Mexico is the result of its government's decision to wage war against rampant drug cartels that are fighting mostly against each other but also against the portions of Mexican law enforcement they have not corrupted. Operating in that nation's north, they are serving this nation's appetite for illegal narcotics and illegal immigrants.

The gun shop's proprietor, the name of whose shop might indicate familiarity with Arthurian legend, is on trial here, accused of selling at least 650 weapons, including AK-47 rifles, in small lots to "straw buyers" -- persons who illegally pass on the weapons to the cartels, thereby fueling the violence that killed more than 6,000 Mexicans last year. That was more than 2,000 above the 2007 toll and fewer than will die if the rate of killing so far this year continues. (U.S. military fatalities in Iraq in six years number 4,249.) Fortunately, most of the dead are members of the warring cartels.

The prosecution of the proprietor is part of the U.S. attempt to stop the southward flow of weapons and bulk currency while Mexico combats the northward flow of drugs and of human beings brought by "coyotes." Although almost all the cartels' weapons come from the United States, the cartels are generating upward of $15 billion annually from drugs, human trafficking and extortion. So they will find ways to get guns -- and grenades and other military weapons -- for their internecine disputes about control over routes for smuggling drugs and people.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/18/AR2009031802930.html

However it looks like the case against X-Caliber and the owner has a major problem:

PHOENIX, March 18 (Reuters) - An Arizona judge threw out criminal charges on Wednesday against a gun dealer accused of knowingly selling weapons to smugglers shopping for Mexican drug cartels, after he ruled the prosecutor's evidence was flawed.

Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Robert Gottsfield issued a directed verdict of not guilty in the trial of George Iknadosian, 47, the owner of X-Caliber guns in Phoenix.

*********snip********

Gottsfield dismissed the case on the grounds that the prosecutors had not proven the third-party buyers, or "straw purchasers," had misrepresented their identities when buying the guns.

"There is no proof whatsoever that any prohibited possessor ended up with the firearms," he said in a ruling.
http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSN18511074

So as violence caused by Mexican drug gangs increase in this country, the government's solution will be to ban semi-auto weapons from honest American citizens.

I expect to see an endless stream of propaganda emanating from the anti-gun groups saying the American "assault weapons" are the problem.

[skipos]

1. The "war on drugs" is more of a problem than gun laws

What made liquor's black market, prohibition era violence go away? Not stricter gun laws. Legalization.

[Taverner]

3. Exactly

If drugs are legal, then the most we'll have to worry about is contraband coffee coming across the border

[spin]

8. The "war on drugs" was lost years ago...

the sensible thing is to legalize some drugs such as marijuana.

I remember my grandmother who was born sometime 1800's used a drug called Paregoric to "settle her stomach". She obviously was addicted to the opium which Paregoric contains.

Paregoric, or camphorated tincture of opium, also known as tinctura opii camphorata, is a medication known for its antidiarrheal, antitussive, and analgesic properties. It was a household remedy in the 18th and 19th centuries, when it was widely used to calm fretful children. In the 20th century its use declined as governments regulated it. (In the United States, paregoric can still be found in the pharmacopeia, but it is a Schedule III drug under the Controlled Substances Act.)

The principal active ingredient is powdered opium (containing the equivalent of 0.4 mg/mL of morphine). Other ingredients are benzoic acid, camphor, glycerin, anise oil and purified water. The main effect of this preparation is to increase the muscular tone of the intestine, and also to inhibit normal peristalsis. Its main medicinal use is to control fulminant diarrhea. It is also an antitussive (cough suppressant). Problems with its use include opiate dependency and analgesia which can mask symptoms of diseases that need treatment.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paregoric

My grandmother lived a long healthy life and died in her late nineties after a fall fractured her hip. The opium in her favorite drug to settle her stomach, probably made her later years more pleasant. I also remember my mother occasionally giving me a dose of Paregoric. (Maybe she just wanted me to calm down for a while.)

[jody]

2. Feinstein chairs the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. Why doesn't she apply her superior

knowledge of how to successfully fight a war on drugs by banning firearms for innocent civilians to advising Obama how to win the war against opium in Afghanistan and the massacre of innocent civilians in Afghanistan as well as other places like in Africa.

[one-eyed fat man]

7. not everyone is as stupid as Feinstein

at least in the House there are 65 a lot smarter than her and her bogus ideas.

Congressional Open Letter to Eric Holder

[jody]

11. 65 to 1 is a solid victory for we pro-gun Dems. When will Obama concede & join us by rejecting AWB?

[Pullo]

29. You must be kidding, right?

that would be a major flip-flop, and the ignorant national media would vilify him for it

[jody]

30. I'm not kidding and Obama would join Pelosi and Reid in opposing renewing the AWB. n/t

[yay]

36. but the people would praise him

If he did an about face and started giving 100% support for the 2ntA no body would have any idea what too do. I think that's one flip flop I could tolerate.

[HALO141]

44. Continued pursuit of bad policy...

for the sake of consistency is stupid.

Besides, the media will get over it. Clinton "revised his position" on some issue or another almost monthly and it didn't really hurt him.

[rrneck]

4. If they can't keep guns

out of New York City and Washington DC, good luck keeping them out of Mexico.

[slackmaster]

5. "Fortunately, most of the dead are members of the warring cartels"

Then what, exactly, is the problem?

[Captain Hilts]

6. Firearms from VA fuel crime in Ontario. nt

[TheWraith]

32. Those are handguns.

And Ontario doesn't exactly have a booming crime rate no matter how many guns you ship them, because they take poverty seriously.

What Mexico is claiming is fully automatic assault rifles, which are illegal to import or export in the US.

[OHdem10]

9. Could someone clue the good Senator in.:

Banning Guns in this country does not solve Mexico's Problem.
This talk only stirs up rank and file American Citizens and
gives the GOP the opening to start their "Democrats will take
your Guns" Campaign.

I am pro Military so this is not intended to indict the Military.
If the truth be told, the amount of guns needed by Drug Cartels
are found on Military Bases. An unfortunate truth is there is
always one or two people who may be in tough straights financially.
Large payments of cash to steal weapons or just be inside man, woman
while others steal the weapons. Need to work cooperatively with
Military to help them keep better control of inventories.

Another source could be large quantities of guns collected by
Law Enforcement. These have to accumulate. No real help to Mexico

Third Source: Gun Manufacturers. Make sure they are not producing
illegal weapons. In tough times, people will do things they would
not do in normal or good times.

Sure, in this country gangs may try to burgarize homes and steal
a weapon for the Gang. It would take some doing going house to
house steeling weapons to send to Mexico.

Baning weapons in this country is not the answer for Mexico.

[spin]

10. Obama has a lot of good ideas...

a push for gun control, especially if based on events occurring in Mexico, will cause pro-gun voters to show up in mass at the polls for the midterm election.

The result may doom the good ideas and plans of the Democratic Party, and might make Obama a one term president.

A good approach for Democrats is to ignore new or rehashed draconian gun laws and two years from now, the pro-gun republican voters may again decide to stay home. A better approach is to take firearms away from criminals and criminal gangs. By actually concentrating gun control efforts on the group that is most responsible for gun abuse, crime and violence might actually decrease for a change. "Feel good" laws never accomplish anything, but merely make politicians look like they are at least doing something.

If indeed there is a substantial number of firearms crossing our border into Mexico, we should focus on finding and punishing the people who profit from this activity.

As is usually the case, honest people who own firearms aren't the problem. Criminals are.

[Taitertots]

12. They won't even pretend it has anything to do with America anymore

Now the new meme is that we need darconian gun laws to protect Mexico.

[jeepnstein]

13. George Will?

I thought he was a darling of the Conservative jet set. Oh well, I guess they are showing their true stripes as well. I can't wait to hear all the howling from the gun rights crowd over a Bastion of Freedom like Will being so quick to toss their freedoms aside. Oh, that's right, they won't even mention it.

I will venture to guess that quite a few of those guns being bought and smuggled are destined for homes not connected to the drug trade at all. If you were a normal everyday Jose' who suddenly discovered that your government was in cahoots with the drug cartels, where do you turn for personal protection? I guess you could jump through all the hoops and attempt to buy a firearm from the Mexican Government. Or you could pay a friend of a friend a little extra for something more available...

Mexico's problems are partially our fault thanks to our total failure to have anything resembling a coherent drug policy. Of course, their own systemic corruption is more to blame as far as I'm concerned.

[Life Long Dem]

14. I've said recently she has to go.

It appears she wants to take the internet and guns away from people.

[Furyataurus]

15. So guns going into

mexico is our problem, as well as drugs coming into the U.S.????? What reality do these people live in?????

[Hoopla Phil]

16. If Feinstein believes this she's a total dumb-ass!

[Iktomiwicasa]

20. She doesn't believe it...

...it's just an excuse to enact more gun control laws.

[Hoopla Phil]

21. Then she is violating the oath she took as a Rep and should leave leave leave.

[spin]

34. Sometimes I believe violating the oath of office...

is something all politicians of both parties do on a regular basis.

Maybe that's why we find ourselves in the current mess.

[gorfle]

17. I know!

Senator Dianne Feinstein wants to toughen U.S. gun laws to prevent violence in Mexico. Tanya Snyder reports.

Why don't we raise taxes to help with Mexican poverty, too?

I mean if you're going to burden American citizens to help Mexican citizens, why not go whole hog?

[spin]

18. How about a "bailout" for Mexico? (n/t)

[FLAprogressive]

19. Fein$tein cares only about three things....AIPAC, gun grabbing, and war profiteering

[krispos42]

22. Hmmm... legalize marijuana or criminalize guns?

I wonder which would be a faster, cheaper, and more effective way to combat the Mexican drug gangs?

[pipoman]

23. And which would have more support among Dems and pugs alike? n/t

[krispos42]

24. Criminalizing guns

The anti-gun wing of the Dems would be doing a happy dance while the pro-gun wing would be facepalming. Then the Dems lose the midterms badly in 2010, giving the Repubs one or both of the sides of Congress.


Probably 75% of the electorate would love to have the Dems criminalize guns. Or at least 75% of the Congresscritters.

Note that this only applies to DEMS banning guns.

[pipoman]

25. True

from a party strategist stand point. I really believe from a rank and file position Democrats and Republicans alike are mostly tired of the 'war on drugs'. I believe that most Dems and repugs would love to see decriminalization. I think a movement by Washington Dems to decriminalize would deliver many, many republican voters, especially if the gun control issue was laid to rest too. But, alas, few in Washington really give a damn what the voters want, and most are willing to squander political capital for vocal minority positions within the parties. Too bad.

[Furyataurus]

26. Can someone tell me WHY

these drug cartels would PAY for a "semi-auto" rifle when they can get a FULL AUTO rifle/machine gun for the SAME price or CHEAPER???? I would NOT be surprised if the majority of the firearms "recovered" were HANDGUNS that are coming from the U.S. From what I've read that gun dealer in AZ sold more handguns than rifles. The U.S. has a much better selection of handguns IMO, and since the U.S. is CLOSER its only logical they come here and buy them.

[spin]

35. If American guns are making their way into Mexico...

they probably are being bought by the more honest citizens who want some protection against the violence in their country.

[one-eyed fat man]

27. What part of Arizona is Thailand in?

Here's a guy who has supplied armies all over Africa with military weaponry from rifles and RPGs to attack helicopters and transport aircraft. With his own cargo planes he can, and has delivered TONS of arms and ammunition worldwide! He is under arrest now for selling arms to FARC, the Leftist rebels in Columbia.

Russian Arms Dealer arrested in Thailand

With the amount of REAL Russian AK's available for 100 bucks a pop the only Mexican drug dealer buying a high priced semi-auto in Arizona has smoked too much of his merchandise!

The good Senator no doubt knows her statements are a lie, but she has coldly calculated that if she keeps saying it, she will convince enough idiots that there are open bazaars in Arizona where any school-kid can buy a KPV heavy machine-gun or a ZSU-23-4. Buy 3 B-40 rockets and we throw in an 82mm mortar for free!

[enfield collector]

28. sounds like the SAR show held the first week in December at the AZ

state fairgrounds. I never miss it and usually take one of my boys with me. If they don't have it at the SAR show then it probably doesn't exist. of course you'll have to fill out all the .gov forms, get finger printed, get sheriff sign off, pay the $200 tax and wait between 1 and 3 months for atf approval before taking possession

[one-eyed fat man]

33. Knob Creek

Is in my neck of the woods. It's where I find parts to keep all the stuff I have on ATF Form 4's running. With transferable C&R eligible belt-feds are fetching 40,000 bucks and more, I shoot mine less. Thanks to Charles Rangel, my modest collection of machineguns that cost me a few hundred bucks in 1968 is now equivalent to the tuition to get my grandkid through 4 years of Harvard and still get back change after finishing Harvard Law School.

Mexican machineguns are not being diverted from the US collector market and they are damn sure not "semi-automatic machineguns" except for the one Mayor Daley has trouble with in Chicago.

The restrictions on full-auto firearms are a result of the Hughes Amendment (99th Congress, H.AMDT.777). The amendment prohibited the general public from possessing fully-auto firearms manufactured after May 19, 1986. Rep. William Hughes (D-N.J.) proposed the amendment late in debate and at night when most of the members of the House were gone. Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.), a long proponent of gun control, was presiding over the House at that time and a voice vote was taken. Despite the fact that the bill appeared to fail, Rep. Rangel declared the amendment approved and it was incorporated into House Bill 4332. Once passing the House, H.R.4332 was incorporated in its entirety into S.49. The Senate passed the final S.49 on April 10, 1986 by voice vote and it was signed by the President on May 19, 1986.

[X_Digger]

31. Just saw Napolitano on MSNBC

Andrea Mitchell was grilling her on the Mexico Drug Cartel thing and why wasn't the administration pursuing a new AWB.

Napolitano dodged and said the reason was because an AWB would take time, when immediate action was needed. Mitchell accused her of bowing to the 'gun lobby', and Napolitano refused to take the bait.

Goodonya Napolitano, feh to Mitchell.

[old mark]

37. The "war on drugs" is putting a lot of money into the pockets of

a lot of politicians and other officials here in the US. When it was first announced the estimate was that 10% of all drugs coming into the US werer seized by police. Now, after decades of "war" the estimate is....10%.

It's all about the money.

Just have to add, Ms Feinstein : Since drug smugglers are already breaking a lot of laws, what difference will one more law possibly make to them? Also, you still have YOUR carry permit, don't you?
Another liar, this time Democrat.


mark

[aikoaiko]

38. Fortunately we have Democrats who will protect the 2nd Amendment.

I'm counting on this bunch.

[spin]

39. If we had more Democrats like this representing us...

in Congress, the Republicans would have zero chance of ever being the majority part in either house.

[jody]

40. Start with those 65 Dems plus most of the 178 Reps gives about 243 opposed to AWB v. 189 max Dems

who might vote to renew the AWB, i.e. 254 Dems in the House less the 65 opposing AWB is 189 possible votes to renew the AWB.

Obama could make political points by saying:

"I will veto any bill that renews the assault weapons ban and I've removed from the White House web site the statement that offends over 80 million gun owners, i.e. Obama and Biden 'support making the expired federal Assault Weapons Ban permanent'"

Enough already Obama, do what is right and just say "NO AWB!"

[rq4a]

41. What if? The guns DIDN'T COME from the USA?

What if the guns in Mexico came from the Mexican Army and Federal police? Is it possible it did? Last time I checked it was pretty hard to find automatic weapons in US gun stores. Could it be that corruption in Mexico is the source of the criminal guns in Mexico?

[Furyataurus]

42. Don't forget that

the Mexican military gets most of its arms from the U.S!!!!

[rq4a]

43. Oh, is it the guns or the CORRUPTION ?

Well then, the solution is simple, STOP SELLING GUNS TO THE MEXICAN GOVERNMENT.

Yes?

We don't need to follow Feinstein and ban guns here in the USA.

Yes?

Humor me and say yes.

[spin]

45. Yes...

Welcome to DU.

[slackmaster]

46. The Mexican army, federal police, and local LEOs use many weapons of US origin

For example, M16A1 and A2 rifles. I have no doubt that the drug cartels have acquired some of those.

The MSM would report, correctly but not telling the whole truth, that those weapons came from the USA.