NRA Will Defend "Rights" Of Gun Smugglers

The failed United States "War on Drugs" has created an extremely lucrative black market for the drug trade (just like the U.S.'s first attempt at prohibition did for alcohol). And this black market has created a new breed of organized criminals, known as drug cartels. In Mexico, these cartels are warring with one another to control the import of drugs into the United States -- and these "cartel wars" have caused the deaths of between 35,000 and 40,000 people in Mexico (including police and soldiers trying to stop the killing and innocent civilians caught in the crossfire).

Much of the blame for these thousands of deaths must lie with the United States. Not only did U.S. drug policy create the cartels, but they have been armed mostly with guns from the United States. Thousands of firearms, including military-style semi-automatic weapons, are purchased from dealers in the U.S. and smuggled to the cartels in Mexico each year.

After years of inaction, the United States government has finally taken some action to stop the illegal shipment of firearms into Mexico. The government has issued a rule that will now require any gun dealer in the border states (Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California) to contact the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Expolsives (ATF) if an individual purchases more than two semi-automatic rifles with detachable magazines in a five-day period.

This is a reasonable action that probably should have been done long ago. It won't stop the smuggling altogether, but it will make it a little harder for the smugglers to purchase the firearms.

Incredibly, the National Rifle Association (NRA) is saying it will go to court to stop the new regulation. This probably shouldn't surprise anyone since the NRA has opposed any regulation of guns, no matter how sensible or needed the regulation was. It even opposed the waiting period and background check to keep firearms out of the hands of criminals or the dangerously mentally ill -- in spite of the fact that this was (and is) supported by a large majority of American citizens.

I'm not sure what the NRA sees as a problem to the new federal rules. Any American citizen (that can pass a background check) can still purchase as many firearms as they want, including semi-automatic firearms with detachable magazines. They can even purchase more than two in a five-day period if they can justify the purchase to the ATF. And even following the two in a five day restriction, they could purchase more than a hundred firearms in a year.

Obviously, the new federal regulation does not harm the ability of Americans to purchase whatever firearms they want. The only thing it does is make it a little bit harder for smugglers to purchase large quantities of firearms. So, just who is the NRA trying to protect by fighting the new regulation in court? The smugglers! The NRA should be ashamed of itself. This is not a Second Amendment issue. It is an effort to stop smuggling and save lives.

Obama Refuses To Help Mexico Stop Guns

The United States is quick to blame Mexico for not stopping the illegal smuggling of drugs across the border. There are consistent and repeated calls for Mexico to do more to stop the smugglers, especially from the American right-wing. But this should be a two-way street. While the drugs may be moving north from Mexico, the guns the drug cartels use to protect those drugs and kill the Mexican police and army that tries to stop them, move south from the United States in to Mexico.

It would be good for both countries to staunch the flow of guns into Mexico, especially the military-type weapons like the AK-47 and other high-powered weapons. But the right-wing organizations, like the National Rifle Association (NRA), throw a fit anytime it is suggested that the U.S. government take action against gun sellers that feed the pipeline into Mexico.

Now it looks like President Obama is acting to help the gun runners, or at least knuckling under to the NRA-type organizations. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) requested the president give it the emergency authority to require the gun dealers in the four states that border Mexico to report anyone who buys more than one rifle to the same customer within a 5-day period (there is already a similar rule in effect for handguns).

This seems to be an imminently sensible request. It would not deny any American the ability to purchase a rifle, but it would allow the ATF to check out anyone purchasing large quantities of rifles (which would likely be shipped into Mexico). In addition, it would only be in effect in the four Border states (Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California). And it would probably go a long way toward stopping some of the gun smuggling.

But President Obama turned down the request from the ATF. Instead, the proposal will undergo a three-month review period, where it will be open to public comment. And you can bet there will be plenty of comment from gun groups like the NRA -- all of it opposed to the proposal. And it is likely that right-wing Republicans will do their best to kill the proposal, and probably be successful at it.

This is very disappointing and I have to believe that the president is giving in to political pressure -- afraid to be accused of imposing gun regulations. This action is needed, but now it very likely will never get done.

If we really want Mexico to cooperate with us, maybe we should start helping them solve their problem. Good neighbors help each other. A one-way relationship creates nothing but ill will and accomplishes little.

Border Crackdown Is Smuggler's Dream

Recently, the United States has tightened security on its southern border. More Border Patrol agents have been assigned to the border, along with hundreds of National Guard troops. Fences cover some parts of the border, and new electronic equipment and cameras have been installed.

But what is the result of the border crackdown? In terms of keeping undocumented immigrants out of the United States, it's not very effective. The immigrants keep coming, and will do so as long as there are jobs to be had in this country.

But it has been a real financial boon for one group -- the smugglers. That's right. The biggest effect of the border crackdown has been to help the criminals who profit from smuggling people into this country. These smugglers charge around $1500 for each person they help to enter the U.S., and their business has never been better.

A Mexican-government funded research institution, El Colegio de la Frontera Norte, has been conducting surveys about the border crossings for years. They interviewed those who had been caught by Border Patrol and kicked out, and those who had been successful but returned to Mexico. Their survey was analyzed by the Associated Press.

The AP learned that while the illegal immigrants keep coming, the number who hire a smuggler to get them across has increased as border security increased. Here are the percentages of those who hired a smuggler:

2000..........16%
2003..........20%
2005..........47%

The money we are spending to stop illegal immigration is not keeping people from entering our country illegally. But it has increased the business of smugglers by threefold. Surely, this is not the desired result!

The fact remains that as long as there are jobs for the immigrants in this country, they will keep coming. If we really want to stem the flow of undocumented workers, we must crack down on the employers -- not the border.

Until then, we are just fattening the wallets of the smugglers.