Mexico is suing a number of firearm manufacturers. The lawsuit is to the tune of over a billion dollars. The argument? That's because of these firearm companies, Mexico has become a warzone.
Now, the Supreme Court will decide whether the lawsuit can continue or not.
First, let's back up a smidge.
We all know that Mexico isn't exactly a resort destination these days. While it's never been the most developed nation, it's not bordering on becoming a failed state. The reason is that the cartels control large portions of the country and are able to act with impunity. The police and the military either aren't able to do anything about it or are unwilling to do so.
The fact that many of them are on the cartel payrolls probably plays a factor.
Yet like many other places, Mexico needs to blame someone for that, and there's reasoning behind it.
The Supreme Court agreed Friday to decide whether Mexico may sue gun manufacturers in the United States for aiding in the trafficking of weapons used by drug cartels.
Mexico sued seven gun-makers and one distributor in 2021, blaming them for rampant violence caused by illegal gun trafficking from the United States spurred by the demand of drug cartels for military-style weapons.
“For decades, the government and its citizens have been victimized by a deadly flood of military-style and other particularly lethal guns that flows from the U.S. across the border,” Mexico’s lawsuit said, adding that the resulting carnage was “the foreseeable result of the defendants’ deliberate actions and business practices.”
Mexico has strict gun control laws that it says make it virtually impossible for criminals to obtain firearms legally. Indeed, the suit said, its single gun store issues fewer than 50 permits a year. But gun violence is rampant.
The lawsuit, which seeks billions of dollars in damages, said that 70% to 90% of the guns recovered at crime scenes in Mexico came from the United States and that gun dealers in border states sold twice as many firearms as dealers in other parts of the country.
I didn't say it was good reasoning.
Now, understand that criminals here don't obtain firearms legally. That's a common enough myth, but it's really not what's happening inside our own borders. Those who haven't been convicted of felonies can buy guns, and sometimes that's just a crook who hasn't been caught yet, but even they tend to get their guns on the black market.
Yet here's the thing to remember here. This is a lawsuit against gun manufacturers.
Gun manufacturers don't sell directly to consumers. Not really.
Sure, you can buy a gun from Glock, but they transfer it to a licensed gun dealer who will handle all the paperwork for the transaction. The only way you're getting one directly is if you've got a Federal Firearms License, which is what a dealer has.]
In short, gun manufacturers can't be responsible because they have no say in the matter. They're not selling to individuals in the vast majority of cases.
Yet that's who is being sued.
Further, look at that argument regarding how much more gun stores sell in border states.
First, two of our most populace states are right there on the southern border. That alone could actually account for that, but we also have a history of their lawlessness spilling over into our streets, particularly in the form of illegal immigrants. Is it any wonder some of the folks that live there are getting guns to protect themselves? That uptick in sales means nothing for Mexico's violence.
The truth is that Mexico is violent because Mexican officials can't seem to find their butts with both hands, a GPS, and detailed directions. There's been nothing but gross incompetence--assuming, of course, it's not malfeasance, which I wouldn't bet on--when trying to address the cartel issue. Corruption is rampant and many of the people meant to stop the cartels are actually on their payrolls.
While it's probably true that American guns are showing up down there, it's not simply because we can get them up here. If that were the case, Canada should be similarly violent. It's not, especially as it doesn't have gun control laws quite as bad. In theory, if firearm availability were the issue, Canada should be worse than Mexico.
it's not by any metric you care to name unless you start considering winter weather.
On that one, Mexico wins hands down.
But on violence? Not in the least.
See, the issue isn't the availability of guns. It's the demand for guns by criminals.
Couple that with the fact that armed self-defense is basically a non-starter because it's almost impossible to get a gun from the only legal gun store, which happens to be smack dab on an army base and requires paperwork and approval just to walk in the door, and what you end up with is a recipe for disaster.
But rather than address their own mistakes, they'd prefer to blame American gun manufacturers who are generally powerless to stop the supposed tide.
It's a common tactic, but that doesn't make it any less pathetic.
