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Jens 'n' Frens
Idle thoughts of a relatively libertarian Republican in Cambridge, MA, and whomever he invites. Mostly political.
"A strong conviction that something must be done is the parent of many bad measures."
-- Daniel Webster
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Wednesday, December 29, 2010 :::
Today's Washington Post has an article about how well gun control has been working in Mexico.
In all of Mexico, there is only one gun store. The shop, known officially as the Directorate of Arms and Munitions Sales, is operated by the Mexican military. The clerks wear pressed green camouflage. They are soldiers.
[2 paragraphs skipped]
To buy a gun, clients must submit references and prove that their income is honestly earned, that their record is free of criminal charges and that their military obligations, if any, have been fulfilled with honor. They are fingerprinted and photographed. Finally, if judged worthy of owning a small-caliber weapon to protect home and hearth, they are allowed to buy just one. And a box of bullets.
Mexico has some of the toughest gun-control laws in the world, a matter of pride for the nation's citizens. Yet Mexico is awash in weapons. The Mexicans like to talk about guns being smuggled in from the US. These actually only amount to about a sixth of the guns confiscated by the federales (I can't find my reference on that), with about 8% of them guns that had been legally-owned in the US. Regardless, it is true that one of the reasons gun control doesn't work very well is the smuggling problem. Perhaps if they're concerned that their northern border is too porous, they should build a wall. They might even talk us into helping.Labels: guns
::: posted by Steven at 11:42 AM
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