Are U.S. Gun Laws to Blame for Violence in Mexico?

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President Obama should move swiftly on common sense measures to limit the flow of guns and deadly semi-automatic assault weapons that are fueling Mexico’s escalating drug violence. In his second press conference from the East Wing, President Obama was asked about the escalating violence along the border, and he stated:

“Even as [President Calderón] is doing more to deal with the drug cartels sending drugs into the United States, we need to do more to make sure that illegal guns and cash aren’t flowing back to these cartels. That’s part of what’s financing their operations, that’s part of what’s arming them, that’s what makes them so dangerous. And this is something that we take very seriously and we’re going to continue to work on diligently in the months to come.

Although President Obama committed $800 million and supplying additional law enforcement resources to the border, the inconvenient truth is that no amount of money or agents will ultimately quell the violence until the U.S. passes stronger gun laws to cut off the pipeline of weapons flowing into Mexico.

Those measures include a comprehensive ban on assault weapons, requiring background checks on all gun sales such as those at gun shows, and removing the “Tiahrt restrictions” on ATF to permit the release of gun crime trace data to local law enforcement agencies to clamp down on gun trafficking.

Those same federal policies would also have a dramatic impact on reducing gun violence right here in our communities and states.

“The truth is that there are members of Congress that say they care about Mexico’s drug-infused violence, but then turn right around and oppose sensible measures to keep deadly weapons out of the gun traffickers’ and drug dealers’ hands,” said Sally Slovenski, Executive Director of Freedom States Alliance. “How can we expect to solve this threat unless we cut off the supply of weapons heading south?

“It is imperative that President Obama take a leadership stand on these issues and fight for stronger gun laws. It is also time for Congress to put the national security interests of our country ahead of the profit motive of the gun industry and the radical agenda of the gun lobby. In helping to limit Mexico’s violence by enacting comprehensive federal legislation, we can also have a dramatic impact on gun violence right here in our states and communities.”

65 House Democrats have already written a letter to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder telling him and the Administration not to press for an assault weapons ban despite the horrific violence in Mexico, the Alabama massacre with an AK-47 that killed 10 Americans, and the deadly shooting of police officers in Oakland, California last week.

It’s a telling sign that the gun lobby has a stranglehold on our government when it comes to guns and why leadership is desperately needed.