Does gun control work? Look south, you fools

By Russ Vaughn

In an article in the Business Outlook section of the January 31st, Albuquerque Journal, (subscription required) Jerry Pacheco, executive director of New Mexico International Business Accelerator, makes some cogent observations that Liberals should ponder before using isolated incidents of violence, such as the recent Tucson shootings, to resume the drumbeat for more restrictive gun control laws.

The most violent country in the Western Hemisphere is the one on our southern border, a nation where thousands die annually in vicious shootouts, many of whose victims are innocent bystanders, cut down in sweeping hails of fire from illegal, that's right illegal, firearms, supposedly denied to those who wield them in spite of strict, that's right, strict, federal government gun controls. Mr. Pacheco asserts, and I find it confirmed by other sources, that while the Mexican constitution does indeed cite the right of its citizens to keep and bear arms, "for their safety and legitimate defense," the reality is far different. For instance, 2d Amendment activist, Dave Kopel, cites Article 10 of the Mexican Constitution:

"The inhabitants of the United Mexican States have the right to possess arms in their homes for their security and legitimate defense with the exception of those prohibited by federal law and of those reserved for the exclusive use of the Army, Navy, Air Force, and National Guard. Federal law shall determine the cases, conditions and place in which the inhabitants may be authorized to bear arms."

However, as Mr. Pacheco and Mr. Kopel both note, Mexican federal codes severely restrict this constitutional right, resulting in a reality where law-abiding citizens are generally limited to possession of weapons of small caliber only, no larger than .22. Kopel notes that the corruption which pervades all Mexican official business applies as well to the obtaining of government permits to purchase firearms, making them extremely difficult to obtain.

In fact, according to that fervent promoter of more restrictive gun control laws, the Washington Post, there is only one, count 'em, just one gun store in all of Mexico. And as the Post further notes, "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."

Let's see if we got this right. The simple citizen can't own anything larger than a .22 because of federal gun control laws, while the drug cartels, who could care less about said gun control restraints possess armories which in many cases rival or exceed those of the Mexican police forces and even the national armed forces. The money quote from the Washington Post article is this, "Asked whether Mexico's gun-control laws were working, Mendoza said, 'Ask the criminals.' "

What is it that liberals seem incapable of grasping about the stark truth that if you outlaw guns, only the outlaws will have them? Look south you wishful fools, and see what your gun control has wrought.