Recently The Washington Post published an article depicting the rampant organized crime crisis in Mexico. There is no question that the crime and violence fueled by drug cartels in our southern neighbor are major problems for Mexico, the United States, and for the global community. However, the authors make a mistake typical of the 'gun control' crowd; they blame the firearm rights enshrined in the U.S. Constitution for the problems in Mexico.
Cartels are becoming bolder, showcasing weapons and drugs in videos used to not only attract potential recruits but also threaten those who might oppose them. Mexican officials who articulate their frustration in the article are very quick to blame cartel activity on their pro-gun northern neighbor and the authors are more than eager to parrot these inaccurate sentiments in the article.
The misplaced blame is unfortunate because the right solutions cannot be implemented if the problem is not correctly identified. If firearm rights are the problem, why does the United States not face a similar level of cartel-related violence? Particularly under President Trump, crimes are prosecuted. The government enforces the law. Making the United States more like Mexico, with its clearly ineffective gun control policies, will not solve Mexico's problem and is surely not a successful model for the U.S. to follow.
Narcotics activity is an ongoing, destructive problem in Mexico, a country infamous for the uneven enforcement of its own laws. The United States has a role to play as a partner in helping to deter and prosecute any cross-border cartel activities. However, shifting the conversation from law enforcement and rooting out government corruption to the Second Amendment is unhelpful and misguided. ....
Further evidence, as if any more might be needed, is that 'gun control' has minimal effect on criminal activity, and in this case like so many it is the disarmed citizen that suffers, having little recourse to a sensible means of self defense. As usual money talks, and so the rich drug cartels can easily bypass any controls by paying corrupt law enforcement officials and buying guns from a large black market.