Op-Ed: Give authorities the tools to track gun-runners

[jpak]

http://www.appeal-democrat.com/articles/gun-104643-track-guns.html


Violence along the U.S.-Mexico border continues to spiral upward, with all-too-frequent reports of bullet-ridden bodies turning up on street corners, in parks, on deserted highways, even at quinceaneras.

A complex combination of drugs, corruption and poverty may be behind the bloodletting. But the source of the weapons used to kill is easily identified: The U.S. accounts for an estimated 85 percent of guns seized by Mexican authorities, according to a 2009 Government Accountability Office report.

For years, U.S. officials have been promising to clamp down on gun-runners who supply drug cartels and human smugglers. Now, the Obama administration has the opportunity to make good on that pledge, by granting a request by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to track bulk sales of semiautomatic long guns. The new rule would require the 8,500 licensed gun shops in Arizona, California, New Mexico and Texas to report to the agency any sale of two or more rifles of greater than .22 caliber to the same person over five days.

It's a sensible and, if anything, too-modest plan that could provide valuable tips to ATF agents and help reduce violence on both sides of the border. President Obama should not only approve it, he should expand it to apply to all gun sellers nationwide. Limiting the rule to the four border states will only push the illicit trade into the nearest state where smugglers can load up on AK-47-style assault weapons.

<more>

Why does the NRA love gunrunners so?

[Kolesar]

1. "The customer is always right" ... eom

[virginia mountainman]

2. What BS, They can...And have been able to for years...

They can trace the S/N to a gun manufacturer, than to a wholesaler, than to an FFL, than to an indavidual...

Their is no excuse for willful ignorance...

And besides, the ATF has been gleefully sending guns across the border for a while now...

Many threads in here about "Project gunrunner"

[Hangingon]

3. Happy to unrec for posting the same debunked material

[spin]

4. The ATF doesn't need any more new regulations, It needs to be replaced ...

by a competent agency that WILL enforce existing laws and actually do something to stop the straw purchase of firearms and consequent smuggling to Mexico rather than allow the smuggling to happen as they have in Project Gunrunner.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

5. face/palm

you are such a twisted pretzel.

[Atypical Liberal]

6. I don't have a problem with this.

If someone purchases more than 5 firearms a month, I have to believe that is a big anomaly.

I just purchased two firearms this month. One is an original 1863 Enfield, and the other is a modern replica 1853 Enfield. These are the first firearms I have been able to afford to purchase in about 4 years.

If there are people out there that can buy 5 firearms in a month, they are either in a small group of people with much larger disposable incomes than I have, or they are up to no good.

I don't have a problem with people who ping NICS 5 or more times a month getting a little special attention from the BATFE.

[safeinOhio]

7. I'd have to have a dealer license to

buy 5 cars a month.

[PavePusher]

9. Buy? Or sell?

Either way, it doesn't matter, licencing is all about money and tax revenue, and has nothing to do with public safety.

[safeinOhio]

12. user fees.

public safety is not free.

[PavePusher]

14. Then go to a uniform tax.

If the service/function is good for everyone, then everyone should pay for it.

[safeinOhio]

15. great idea

can we use that for cigarette taxes and gas taxes. make those that don't smoke or own a car pay for those that do.

[Atypical Liberal]

20. But we do this all the time.

I pay lots of taxes for things I don't use, or even approve of. Like wars on "terror", or "drugs". Hell, I'm willing to pay more taxes to have better social safety nets, and single-payer health care, whether I use them or not.

[Taitertots]

29. Just like people who don't drive pay for the roads...

People who don't have children pay for schools. People who have not had fires pay for the fire department. People who are not the victims of crime pay for the police....

[Taitertots]

28. Why do you support regressive taxation? n/t

[diveguy]

13. No you dont

You have to have a dealer's licence to sell 5 cars a month

[Euromutt]

18. I don't have an issue with the measure, but I don't want it implemented by executive fiat

In my view, the ATF already has way too much power to interpret the laws it enforces. If we're going add multiple purchase reports for long guns, it should be by an act of Congress, not executive fiat.

Also, I think the reporting requirement for two guns within five business days of each other is casting too wide a net; the ATF will just get snowed under in reports, not follow up on any of them in a timely fashion, and the whole measure won't do any good except as yet another excuse to put FFLs out of business over footling reporting errors. The Appeal-Democrat says it wants the the ATF to be able to track bulk purchases, and in my book, two rifles in a week does not constitute "bulk."

[lawodevolution]

8. Again lies. Of the small amount of US civilian guns that get to Mexico

ATF is to thank for at least several thousand.

Also there is little violence on the US side of the border area. If the US government wants to stop being responsible for getting tens of thousands of people around the world killed in the drug war, then legalize them

[jpak]

10. NRA propaganda - and suckage

yup

[Name removed]

11. Deleted message

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[krispos42]

16. "The U.S. accounts for an estimated 85 percent of guns seized by Mexican authorities"

Major falsehood. Major.

The Mexicans only submit a small percentage of the guns to the ATF for tracing because only a small percentage of gun are US in origin.


Since the premise of the article is bullshit, the conclusions are highly questionable.

[jpak]

19. NRA propaganda to provide cover for illegal sales from US gun/shop shows

yup

[Straw Man]

21. NRA propaganda from... the Annenberg Foundation?

http://www.factcheck.org/politics/counting_mexicos_guns.html

They conclude that nobody knows. The 90% figure is based not on the total number of guns seized, but only on those submitted to US officials for tracing. No one is sure what percentage of the total number seized that represents.

Let's say you hear a report that says that 90% of investigations into unauthorized use of firearms by police reveal alcohol use and domestic violence as contributing factors. From this, you conclude that 90% of cops get drunk and shoot their spouses. You'd be wrong.

[WatsonT]

26. He doesn't know what he's saying

likely he's just a bot designed to randomly string together key phrases and link to reports that mention "assault weapons" and "gun show loopholes" above a certain threshold.

Although there is a glitch in its program: whenever confronted with undeniable facts it just repeats "yup" over and over again until it resets and makes another post.

[krispos42]

22. Wow.

Just... wow.

[PavePusher]

23. Teh stooopid is strong in this one.... S/He will be a useful... tool. n/t

[WatsonT]

25. GIGO

[rl6214]

17. President Obamas ATF is sending all those weapons

you would figure they would be able to track them, not lose them and have them kill a US agent.

[WatsonT]

24. Why would you buy an "AK-47 style assault weapon"

from the US?

You could get a full auto, far cheaper, in greater quantities, and with less risk by going to Africa, or South America.

I think many people, especially the author of this and the original posters are completely unaware of our gun laws. They also seem to believe that repeating key phrases like "military style" and "assault weapons" can magically turn a semi-auto rifle with some attachments in to a fully automatic machine gun with grenade launcher attached. Where they believe they derive this magical ability I cannot guess, but it doesn't seem to pan out in reality.

And I suspect most of the American made machine guns found among the cartels either came from the ATF directly or through corrupt Mexican military officials on the payroll of the cartels (whose weapons were purchased legally by the Mexican government and involved no gun-shows whatsoever).

Facts are the anti-gun folks kryptonite. That and reason, common sense, intelligence, etc.

[Taitertots]

27. We need to record all phone conversations and monitor all internet traffic near the border

Why do you love gun runners and cocaine traffickers?

[ileus]

30. Still using the 85% debunked myth I see....

[Katya Mullethov]

31. I know what happends when you loan someone your tools

Tools that they only need to use " one time " .