ABC: It May Not Be Real--But We'll Put It Out There

The Yankee fisks another ABC fabrication. ABC is attempting to blame US citizens (and George Bush, of course) for the guns used by drug-gangs in Mexico (and Central America, and South America.)

The focus of the story, according to ABC News, is that U.S. dealers of civilian firearms are to blame for Mexico's drug cartels and their violence problems... so why do they highlight an M60 general purpose machine gun, a weapons still in use in Mexico's military, but impossible to find in the open U.S. civilian market?

Here's another ABC lie, direct from the story:

Assault weapons made in China and Eastern Europe, resembling the AK-47, have become widely and cheaply available in the U.S. since Congress and the Bush administration refused to extend a ban on such weapons in 2004.

The reality?

AK-pattern rifles were legal to own or import during the entire life of the 1994-2004 "Crime Bill," something that Ross knows for a fact... or should. This claim is a blatant falsehood.

The only effect of the law was to outlaw the importation or manufacture of certain specific firearms by name, and cosmetic features found on other firearms, without banning their manufacture, important, or purchase once these features were removed or replaced. The result was that the same functioning firearms were imported the day after the "ban" went into effect without a bayonet lug or flashhider, and with a thumbhole stock instead of a pistol grip. Functionally, the weapons were identical, with no reduction in firepower, magazine capacity, controllability, or or lethality. The "Crime Bill" outlawed virtually nothing, and was merely a fig-leaf for anti-gun politicians.

Fiction, from ABC:

The drug cartels' weapons of choice include variants of the AK-47, .50-caliber sniper rifles and a Belgian-made pistol called the 'cop killer' or 'mata policia' because of its ability to pierce a bulletproof vest.

"It's in high demand by your violent drug cartels, their assassins in Mexico," said Newell of the ATF. The gun can fire a high-powered round used in a rifle.

Fact:

The FN Five-seveN (their punctuation, not mine) does not fire rifle bullets as the article claims. It fires a tiny 5.7mm personal defense round designed for light carbines, submachine guns and pistols.

It is not any more armor-piercing than many other pistol cartridges, and less powerful than all centerfire rifle cartridges. Furthermore for the 5.7 cartridge to be truly armor-piercing, it must fire special ammunition that is only available to military and law enforcement sources.

A 5.7mm round is approximately a .25 or .257 cal--there's no 'there' there, folks.

Generally speaking, full-auto rifles are VERY difficult to obtain in the USA--you need a very pricey permit, for openers, and to my knowledge there's only 1 dealer in Wisconsin who actually sells them.

ABC is swallowing whole (and then regurgitating) the BS peddled by the Mexican Attorney-General and BATFE--and lying, to boot.

Reminder: it's budget-season and BATFE wants more money.

Reminder 2: Mexico's government(s) are as corrupt as any in the Western Hemisphere.

Reminder 3: Drug cartels have a lot of wherewithal. They can buy weapons anywhere on the planet--including direct from the ChiComs.