Tuesday, March 03, 2009

Holder's "Mexican Guns" Lie Exposed by CNN (!)

A sharp-eyed Clay Cramer found this.

See this video from CNN. They actually interview an expert pointing out that guns being used in Mexico aren't assault weapons. The reporter clearly discussed the difference between automatic weapons and the semiautomatics that Holder wants to ban. Lou Dobbs says that the Mexican government won't provide the serial numbers of guns supposedly smuggled in from the U.S.--which suggests that they were actually obtained from the Mexican Army.

Doh.

Two things to note:

1) CNN (!!!!) contradicts Eric Holder's BS.
2) Mexico is totally, thoroughly, corrupt.

More:

This week, an Arizona gun shop goes on trial in state court in what law-enforcement officials are calling a landmark case against gun dealers who sell weapons that end up in the hands of Mexican drug cartels, fueling horrific violence south of the border that killed more than 6,000 people last year.

X-Caliber Guns LLC, is accused of knowingly selling hundreds of weapons, mostly AK-47s, to buyers who were posing as fronts for Mexican drug gangs. The gun store's owner, 47-year-old George Iknadosian, has maintained his innocence in court filings

Well, that will be interesting. "Knowingly" is a slippery word. And there are other defenses:

Although U.S. gun laws generally forbid the sale of weapons to noncitizens, the X-Caliber case shows how Mexican purchasers used intermediaries -- or "straw buyers" -- to flout the rules.
The scheme, according to the prosecution, was simple: The buyers, usually 19- to 22-year-old U.S. citizens with no police record, declared that the firearm was for personal use, but instead passed it along to an associate of a Mexican cartel. The buyer filled out a standard form used by the ATF to track firearms. Lying on the form is punishable by up to 10 years in prison. But ATF agents here say buyers in the X-Caliber case were paid a fee to run that risk -- up to $100 on each transaction.


Gun shops generally rely on ATF recordkeeping to check them before selling to the wrong buyer. Ken Logan, a manager at the Shooters World gun store in Phoenix says the ATF form, once approved after being checked against a national data base, relieves the store of responsibility. "The ATF says 'yea' or 'nay,' on who I can sell a gun to," he says.
Gun stores run the risk of lawsuits if they're deemed to be "profiling" -- refusing to sell guns to young Latinos, for instance...


So--either you profile and get sued, or you sell to an ATF-approved buyer and get prosecuted.

What a Country!!

But here again, we run smack-dab into "MSM Reporter Ignorance."

Mexican drug gangs are stocking up on deadlier weapons. ATF officials say they have registered more purchases of high-powered FN Herstal rifles and pistols -- the Belgian-made weapon called "matapolicias" in Mexico, or "cop killers," for their ability to fire through body armor. Such items are sold in hundreds of Arizona gun shops, or by private owners advertising online

ANY rifle more powerful than .22 caliber squirrelguns will fire through most body armor. There is an ultra-heavy-duty armor used by the military which will deflect rifle bullets, but police departments do not buy it wholesale; it's extremely heavy and limits movement. And none of the pistols on this page will penetrate police body armor.

Here's another MSM mis-information byte:

At a farewell picnic at a federal shooting range in Tucson, the Mexican policeman was invited to test fire a powerful American weapon that has been surfacing lately in the narco-gangs' arsenals: the 50 caliber Barrett rifle, powerful enough to pierce a tank's armor

....but ONLY IF you purchase armor-piercing ammo--which is NOT available to civilians, period.

The WSJ reporter did not mention the 'serial number' problem which Dobbs brought up.

Anyone out there wonder 'why not?'

HT: Lott

1 comment:

Billiam said...

Dad, they have to continue the farce. If the Democrats came right out and honestly said they wanted to repeal the 2nd Amendment, they'd lose many supporters. This way, they can fool the fools who don't pay close attention. Kind of the way many rino's do/did with earmarks, parts of the Patriot Act, and spending.