Now, Did CBS News Really Think This Segment on Gun Control Through?

Matt Vespa | December 23, 2024 6:05 AM

I won’t say no one can report on this story, but the framing is appalling. As with most media reports on gun violence, CBS News bungled it. Is there something to be said about American-made guns flowing into Mexico, which in turn fall into the hands of the cartels? Yes, but the lede to the CBS News piece was laughably inaccurate. Also, did anyone think this part of the 60 Minutes segment through? You can see the point they’re trying to make, but it hits way off the mark, which many on social media highlighted.

First, the article on the subject: Mexico has strict gun laws, whereas America is the Wild West. We’ve seen this lazy narrative before (via CBS News):

During one of the deadliest chapters in its history, Mexico's government devised a new strategy to curb gun violence; it filed two lawsuits.The first, in 2021, included U.S. gun manufacturer Smith & Wesson and one of their wholesalers. The second, filed a year later, against five U.S. gun stores, claimed they engaged in "reckless and unlawful business practices" that supply dangerous criminals.
[…]
Like the U.S., Mexico's constitution grants its citizens the right to bear arms. But unlike the U.S., that right comes with a long list of restrictions.
There's also a big difference in the number of gun dealers. In the U.S., there are more than 75,000 active gun dealers, twice as many as U.S. post offices. While in Mexico, there's just one gun store. It's located in the middle of a heavily guarded military base in Mexico City.

Stop. That’s where I couldn’t go any further. There are restrictions in the United States. You must undergo a background check to get a firearm from an FFL dealer. You can’t own firearms if convicted of domestic abuse or a violent crime. It’s not like going to Aldi’s. There is no such thing as a gun show loophole, and private sales are so small that their impact on the entire gun violence debate is either de minimis or irrelevant; most private sales are transfers among family members via inheritance.