newsweek: up to 90 pct of mexican cartel guns from US

http://www.newsweek.com/id/191037?from=rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+newsweek%2Fcolumnists%2FTerrorWatch+(UPDATED+-+Columnists+-+Mark+Hosenball+-+Terror+Watch)

A Self-Inflicted Gun Wound

Why is Attorney General Eric Holder backing away from an assault weapons ban?

By Michael Isikoff and Mark Hosenball | Newsweek Web Exclusive
Mar 25, 2009

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As much as 90 percent of the assault weapons and other guns used by Mexican drug cartels are coming from the United States, fueling drug-related violence that is believed to have killed more than 7,000 people since January 2008, according to estimates by Mexican and U.S. law enforcement officials.

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http://www.foxnews.com/politics/elections/2009/04/02/myth-percent-guns-mexico-fraction-number-claimed/

The Myth of 90 Percent: Only a Small Fraction of Guns in Mexico Come From U.S.
While 90 percent of the guns traced to the U.S. actually originated in the United States, the percent traced to the U.S. is only about 17 percent of the total number of guns reaching Mexico.

By William La Jeunesse and Maxim Lott

FOXNews.com

Thursday, April 02, 2009



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There's just one problem with the 90 percent "statistic" and it's a big one:

It's just not true.

In fact, it's not even close. The fact is, only 17 percent of guns found at Mexican crime scenes have been traced to the U.S.

What's true, an ATF spokeswoman told FOXNews.com, in a clarification of the statistic used by her own agency's assistant director, "is that over 90 percent of the traced firearms originate from the U.S."

But a large percentage of the guns recovered in Mexico do not get sent back to the U.S. for tracing, because it is obvious from their markings that they do not come from the U.S.

"Not every weapon seized in Mexico has a serial number on it that would make it traceable, and the U.S. effort to trace weapons really only extends to weapons that have been in the U.S. market," Matt Allen, special agent of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), told FOX News.

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http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/04/12/mexican-envoy-defends-claim-guns-mexico-come/?loomia_ow=t0:s0:a16:g12:r2:c0.526777:b25384586:z0

Updated April 12, 2009
Mexican Envoy Defends Claim That Most Guns in Mexico Come From U.S.

Auturo Sarukhan, the Mexican ambassador to the United States, repeated and defended his claim that 90 percent of the weapons intercepted in Mexico come from the U.S.

During an appearance on CBS' "Face the Nation" Sunday, Sarukhan said on the Arizona and Texas borders with Mexico alone, roughly 7,000 licenses for federal firearms had been granted.

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Sarukhan isn't the only one to cite this myth. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, California Sen. Diane Feinstein and Willliam Hoover, assistant director for field operations at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives have all said that 90 percent of weapons used to commit crimes in Mexico come from the U.S.

But in fact, only 17 percent of guns found at Mexican crime scenes have been traced to the U.S.

An ATF spokeswoman told FOXNews.com earlier this month in a clarification of the statistic used by her own agency's assistant director "that over 90 percent of the traced firearms originate from the U.S."

But a large percentage of the guns recovered in Mexico do not get sent back to the U.S. for tracing because it is obvious from their markings that they do not come from the U.S.

"Not every weapon seized in Mexico has a serial number on it that would make it traceable, and the U.S. effort to trace weapons really only extends to weapons that have been in the U.S. market," Matt Allen, special agent of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), told FOX News earlier this month.

Sarukhan has claimed that Mexico seizes 2,000 guns a day from the United States, or 730,000 a year. But the official statistic from the Mexico attorney general's office says Mexico seized 29,000 weapons in all of 2007 and 2008.

...

looks like obama isn't the only one that doesn't listen to fox news.

i expect all you truth-in-the-media advocates will be lining up here to take a swing at newsweek.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/191037/output/comments

Comments

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Posted By: atvfrank @ 10/25/2009 11:40:50 PM

You people stated 90% of assault weapons in Mexico come from the U.S> Where did you come up with this "fact". Musst be spending to much time in Disney's La LA land. An assault weapon is a fully automatic firing weapon, which has been illegal in the US for over 80 years. Production and control of these weapons is so tightly monitored that one would have to assume that if they were sold in the US to Mexican drug cartels, the Federal Government would have to be involved. What is available to US citizens are "look alike" weapon which do NOT operate in an auto mode. With the billions of dollars the drug cartels have, why would they be buying fake assault weapons in lots of one or two from US gun stores leaving a paper trail, then attemping to smuggle them across the border. It is far easier and cheaper to purchase real assault weapons from the international gun dealers and have them smuggled in by the boatload. It should anger all Americans, not just the NRA, that this false proproganda is not to help Mexico's war with drug cartels, but is manufactured to limit US citizens rights. Recent history shows that when rights that here are covered by the 2nd adminment are lost, soon rights covered by the 1st and 5th are also lost.

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Posted By: txlibertarian @ 10/23/2009 3:27:08 PM

The overall violent crime rate for England is 1,390 per 100,000 people while the overall violent crime rate for America is 506.1 per 100,000 people. Now where are your facts??

These are from the GOVERNMENT of New Zealand

http://www.justice.govt.nz/pubs/reports/2002/intl-comparisons-crime/section-7.html


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Originally posted by zeeblebot
The overall violent crime rate for England is 1,390 per 100,000 people while the overall violent crime rate for America is 506.1 per 100,000 people.

Your thread is about guns.

Assault is common in Britan - 'Actual Bodily Harm' and 'Grievious Bodily Harm' etc.

Gun related crime is low in Britain.

Originally posted by FMF
Your thread is about guns.

Assault is common in Britan - 'Actual Bodily Harm' and 'Grievious Bodily Harm' etc.

Gun related crime is low in Britain.

but assault is not, and theory is that it's because criminals don't have to worry about being shot by citizens.

Originally posted by zeeblebot
but assault is not, and theory is that it's because criminals don't have to worry about being shot by citizens.

You think arming a society as violent as Britain's is the way forward?

after a while they'd have less criminals.

imagine hyacinth bucket drawing a bead on the chavs mugging dear old mrs. grindly out on the curb.

Originally posted by zeeblebot
after a while they'd have less criminals.

Thanks for the Bumper Sticker.

you're welcome ...

You cannot compare crime rates between countries unless you know more about the probability of being caught, the probability of the victim going to the police, and the quality of administration of the police.