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Mexico has some of the strictest gun laws, yet – as we all know – also has a rising crime rate and prosperous black market gun sales. Also, the country only has one legal gun store that is found in Mexico City on a military base, reports the Miami Herald.
People looking to legally obtain a firearm must go all the way to Mexico City to get their permits and guns. When they arrive at the store a metal detector greets them, and a slew of soldiers keep an eye on them. The law states that if you are purchasing a gun for home protection you are only allowed one pistol or revolver (from .22 to .38 calibers) with 200 rounds of ammunition available per person each year.
The long trek and tedious process turns some to the more easily accessible black market guns. Most Mexicans don’t even know the gunstore exists. It hasn’t been advertised, for fear of “rampant gun buying” claims army Col. Raul Manzano Velez.
The uncontrolled deaths by firearms are at an overwhelming 18 for every 10,000 people compared to America’s five, according to The Miami Herald. President Felipe Calderon has seized 140,000 weapons since he got into office, yet guns are still sold all over the country. He blames the U.S. saying that, “unlimited access to high-powered weapons that are sold freely and indiscriminately in the United States of America” is the cause.
The predicament in Mexico should serve as a close-to-home reminder that overbearing laws are not the answer to ending gun violence. Smart gun laws that are well enforced are the only way to stop the chaos.