U.S. Not Responsible for Mexico's Violence

Secretary of State, Hillary R. Clinton, became the latest to jump on the "blame-U.S." bandwagon claiming "our inability to prevent weapons from being illegally smuggled across the border to arm these criminals causes the deaths of police, of soldiers and civilians.”  She went on to claim it is unfair for the U.S. "to be creating a situation where people are holding the Mexican government and people responsible."  These claims echo the sentiments of President Felipe Calderon who has continued to demand that Washington take responsibility for the crimes of Mexican cartels.

Clinton and Attorney General Holder have used these claims as justification for reinstating the "assault" weapons ban signed into law by Mrs. Clinton's husband, Wm. Jefferson "Bill" Clinton.  That justification ignores the historical impact of the previous ban which was allowed to expire primarily because it failed to reduce gun crimes during its ten year lifespan.  It also ignores the current gun legislation in Mexico.  While the Mexican government has not completely banned private ownership of firearms, they are heavily restricted, both in quantity and firepower.  The majority of weapons used by the cartels are illegal in Mexico.  If gun regulations applied to criminals, the cartels wouldn't have access to these weapons.  It is irresponsible for Mrs. Clinton to advocate policy that would limit the rights of American citizens to provide an illusion of security to a foreign nation, especially when there is no evidence to suggest limiting the rights of law abiding citizens in the U.S. will reduce violence in Mexico.

Even if most of the guns used by the cartels originated in the United States, a claim that has been debunked by BAFTE, blaming U.S. gun laws is still a misappropriation of responsibility.  If the gun laws are responsible for the violence, then why don't they have the same impact in the U.S. as they supposedly do in Mexico.  The answer is quite simple, it is the criminals that are responsible for the violence, not laws, or even the weapons used to facilitate their crimes.  If President Calderon truly wants to put an end to the violence in his country, he needs end the corruption in his own government, and put the blame where it truly belongs, on the cartels.

Calderon should also heed the advice of Wayne LaPierre, President and CEO of the NRA, and rescind gun control laws that disarm his citizens and deprive them of their right to self-defense.  The civilian casualties throughout Mexico, while no less horrific, are far less surprising when you understand that these people have been left almost completely defenseless, at the mercy of the cartels.  The only way for Mexico to survive this internal war, is for their government to accept responsibility for the crimes occurring within their borders, and to pursue the criminals responsible for these atrocities.  As long as the Mexican government continues to blame United States policy for its crime problems, the country will continue to spiral towards collapse.

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