Published by the San Diego Rifle and Revolver Association
Contributor Commentaries
Name Calling by Congress Continues
Wednesday, 12 August 2009 12:23 | Author: Ralph Weller |
The name calling continues. Senator Harry Reid, as reported by Eric Zimmerman at The Hill today, reported that Reid said:"evil-mongers" are using "lies, innuendo and rumor," to drown out rational debate. Reid was referring to the debate on government healthcare reform.
Reid was giving a speech in Las Vegas this week. Eric's comments can be found at:
This only goes to show that when politicians are hell-bent on implementing socialism, there are no bounds, including referring to people in this country as "evil-mongers."
Good luck in your re-election campaign Reid. You're going to need it. You may be pro-gun, and your support has been appreciated, but on the issue of socializing this country, Americans are bending over and tell you where you can kiss them. It isn't pretty.
Mexican Politicians Are Threatening U.S. Second Amendment Rights
Monday, 10 August 2009 19:51 | Author: Ralph Weller |
A few months ago I published an article about guns owned by Mexican cartels. In it, I described weapons I saw owned by average middle-class Mexicans. The weapons they own are illegal. Buying a firearm legally for the average Mexican is next to impossible. There is only one known gun store in Mexico, located in Mexico City and run by the federal government as reported by USA Today since my article. That is not unlike the only gun store in the United States being located in Washington DC. How many Americans would go through the trouble to fly or drive to DC and go through the effort to purchase a firearm? It would most likely be denied since it is a privilege of the rich and well connected. Legal firearms ownership is not for the common Mexican. But it hasn't always been like this.
Like Americans, Mexicans have a rich history of firearms ownership. In 1968, fearing civil unrest, the Mexican government banned ownership of most all firearms above .32 caliber. Since then, the smuggling of firearms into Mexico has run in quantities generally under the radar, not to arm cartels, but to arm the common man for the purpose of self-protection. If you haven't read my first article, please do to understand why common Mexicans feel the need to own a firearm.
The premise of my original article is that Mexican cartels do not buy most of their weapons from U.S. gun dealers. It's the reason the majority of firearms confiscated by Mexican authorities are not submitted to the ATF for tracing. Most of their weapons, including rocket launchers, rocket propelled grenades, fully automatic rifles, land mines and hand grenades seen in pictures with confiscated firearms cannot be purchased from U.S. gun stores. The weapons purchased by cartels are from the worldwide arms black market. It is utter nonsense that U.S. gun laws are the reason Mexico has a Mexican drug cartel violence.
Most recently, Mexico has demanded that American gun laws be changed so it may help their situation. They have demanded that we do something about the flow of firearms into their country. Turnabout is fair play, since the United States has been asking Mexico to stem the flow of drugs into the U.S. The reality is that the flow of drugs into the U.S. is our problem, not a problem for Mexico to solve. Likewise, firearms flowing into Mexico, whether from U.S. sources or high volume suppliers in Africa, Middle East, Far East and South America is Mexico's problem to solve. And, Mexican cartels have the means and the financial resources to bring in guns by the thousands in just one shipment.
Mexican cartels are massive logistical organizations designed to bring drugs into Mexico, transport, repackage for sale into the U.S., then provide the transportation means to move the drugs into the U.S. They are conduits, not manufacturers or growers of drugs. They have historically operated with impunity for a couple of decades because they have key Mexican officials, law enforcement and the military in their pocket. Three massive enterprises with this level of logistical operations doesn't operate in the shadows. Just the flow of vehicles moving drugs to the border region is a massive operation. The bottom line is they are allowed to move freely and operate with little government resistance. And massive they are.
The Mexican drug business, run primarily by three criminal enterprises, is estimated to be anywhere from $20 to $40 billion dollar combined enterprise. The amount of money is staggering. Their size combined is larger than the vast majority of U.S. corporations and they employ, excluding government officials, tens-of-thousands of people. They are well-equipped with trucks, ownership and contracting of aircraft and ships capable of hauling large amounts of most anything they see has a demand.
Weapons from the U.S. is not one of their major enterprises. The black market for full-auto military weapons in quantity charges a fraction of the price for a civilian semi-auto from a U.S. gun store. Cartels aren't stupid. Neither is the Mexican government.
Over the last twelve years I have crossed the Mexican border probably 1000 times or more and I can count on one hand the number of times I've been pulled into an inspection station. Even with that, they open the car doors, look in, shut the doors, then wave you on. Gosh, they are tough, aren't they? Do you get the feeling even Mexican authorities aren't worried about guns coming into Mexico from the U.S.? The facts are, they could care less. If cartels were indeed bringing guns in from the U.S., inspections would be far more intensive. Oh, occasionally they put on a demo of troops at the border crossings, but those are few and far between. It's all show, just as the drug busts are every time a U.S. high level official has talks with Mexican authorities. It's all nonsense.
The facts are, Mexico's bureaucrats have allowed the drug cartels to flourish. The money is just too good for everyone concerned. And the growth in violence in recent years is a result of a saturated market. The growth of the cartel's enterprise is now dependent on market share, not just a growing market. The growth of drug use in the U.S. has stabilized for the past several years. The best way to grow the enterprise is to take the competition out. The outcrop of all this is, violence among the criminal enterprises, a very angry citizenry that is fed up with it all, and Mexican politicians blaming the U.S. for the entire mess.
Mexico has made their own bed. They now have to sleep in it. The question that lingers is whether Mexican politicians will feel heat in voter backlash, or whether they can convince its citizens that they aren't the problem by demonizing the U.S.
My bet is the U.S. will be their scapegoat. And, as long that condition exists, it is important to guard our Second Amendment rights closely. To lose them because of a bunch of corrupt Mexican politicians, and U.S. politicians willing to play along with Mexico, would be a crime against all Americans.
You and I Can't Buy the Guns Mexican Cartels Own
Wednesday, 05 August 2009 15:00 | Author: Ralph Weller |
You and I Can't Buy the Guns Mexican Cartels Own
The Administration is Not Dealing Straight With Us on Mexico's Gun Problem
Ralph Weller March 1 2009
Let's set things straight right up front. Yes, some guns are being smuggled into Mexico from the U.S. Most are handguns. But, handguns are being illegally trafficked from state to state and from the U.S. to Canada. It should come as no surprise that guns are smuggled into Mexico. But, the problem being portrayed by the U.S. media and our government is not as it seems. You see, Mexico doesn't allow ownership of most firearms, so ordinary Mexican people seeking self-protection will find a way to get them into Mexico. As for the drug cartels operating in the border towns along the U.S., they have other sources for their weapons and have become the prime supplier within Mexico.
I worked in Mexico in a border town for about five years. It was far enough from San Diego County in the Sonora Desert of Mexico that commuting several hundred miles daily was impossible. So, for a few years I lived in the city and commuted home periodically on some weekends. As crime grew out of control, I eventually moved into a place on the U.S. side and commuted daily in and out of Mexico for my own safety.
I stayed in Mexico for a Mexican holiday my first year. I don't recall the holiday. Normally, I would leave Mexico for a holiday, but it was in the middle of the week and one day was not long enough to come home. All I know is that on that particular Mexican holiday, Mexicans love to fire guns into the air. That evening as I sat on the balcony of my hotel, the gun fire that erupted in celebration was quite unbelievable. It was so intense I backed off the balcony and watched the festivities from a couple three feet in the room. We're talking war-like firing of weapons, it was that intense.
As I listened that night to the gun fire, I was somewhat shocked at the amount of fully automatic gun fire. It wasn't sporadic. It was continuous throughout the city. For a country that bans guns I thought, how in the world did they get their hands on all these full-auto weapons? Clearly what sounded like M16 fire was prolific along with 7.62 x 39 AK autos with a smattering of smaller caliber full-autos, most likely 9mm. Gun fire can be heard in most American cities on New Years, but I've never heard full-auto weapons being fired, at least not in the San Diego area.
The next day I went into work and sat down with a trusted senior Mexican manager. I looked at him and said, "I thought guns were illegal in Mexico." He chuckled and said, "So you stayed in town last night?" As the conversation progressed, it became clear that guns are as common in Mexico as tamales at Christmas. Everyone he knows, including himself, own at least one gun. And, it matters not whether it's a semi-auto or fully automatic, they're all illegal, so why stop with semi-autos? Though clearly illegal in the states in most instances, a lot of Mexicans have more firepower in terms of military weapons than we can only dream of owning here.
As time went on, parties in the city at middle class Mexican homes become a way of life. Most Mexican managers in the plant knew I was a gun wonk. As it turns out, they couldn't wait to invite me over to their place on a Friday night to show me their collection. Semi-autos, some very high-end Sigs and other European handguns were not uncommon along with piles of old revolvers. I thought I had seen everything in the states, but in Mexico it's not uncommon for people to own full-auto military rifles. Everything from an M16, UZI machine pistols and the most popular, select-fire AK47 military rifles. These are not the so-called "assault weapons" you can buy at the local gun shop in the U.S., but full select-fire military-issue rifles. Now, I know you want to know and are dying to ask; Did I see any U.S. military-issue weapons stolen from the U.S. military? Not a single one was marked with U.S. military markings. Everything was marked with additional foreign markings on the receiver, including M16 rifles, or they had nothing at all. I saw firearms manufactured in Europe, China, Russia and South America along with U.S. manufactured weapons. I saw rifles that looked familiar with no place of manufacture, no serial number or manufacturer's logo. The information was not removed, it was never there to begin with. I can only assume they came from illegal arms manufacturers in India or Pakistan that produce copies of weapons. It was obvious that none of these firearms came from a U.S. gun shop in Tucson or San Diego. You couldn't buy them from a gun shop in the states if you tried.
It seems Mexicans have a rich heritage of firearms ownership prior to the ban in 1968. Despite the laws against owning them, they ignore it. Most Mexicans will say they need it for personal protection of themselves and their family. The other reason is they don't trust the government or local law enforcement. If they have to use it in their home for self-defense, whether they end up in jail is all dependent on how much money they can come up with, or who they know in the government. It also depends on who they shoot. But, given the alternative with high crime rates, most middle class Mexicans willingly and without reservations take the risk. Despite being able to own .22 caliber pistols or rifles, Mexican law requires them to be stored at an approved firing range. Where's the firing range I asked many times? No one knew of one. Where's the gun stores in town to buy legal guns? Gun stores? No one ever recalled seeing one anywhere in Mexico, let alone their city. I'm sure somewhere, maybe in Mexico City you might be able to buy a gun, but not in this city of almost 1.5 million residents. And the gun traffickers know it. Where do ordinary Mexicans get their weapons? Most buy them from a 'friend' or a friend of a friend or cousin or uncle. Where the friend gets them is not talked about. But, it seems that drug cartels in Mexico are heavily involved in gun trafficking of military weapons and related hardware. And, who are these ordinary Mexicans? They range from people who work in factories as managers and senior managers, government workers, doctors, dentists and anyone with the financial means to buy a firearm. I even ran into a couple of government bureaucrats, one a lawyer for the federal government who owns firearms. He confirmed that people he knew in the government, some very highly ranked bureaucrats and politicians all own illegal firearms. The other works for the Mexican equivalent of the IRS. It's a way of life in Mexico. It seemed to me that you aren't in the 'in-crowd' in Mexico unless you own at least one firearm. I was amazed at the whole thing after believing for years that gun ownership in Mexico was non-existent. That is hardly the case. All this flies in the face of news articles published by the U.S. media in the last week or two. Mexico's gun problems are a direct result of gun runners buying "assault weapons" in the U.S. and taking them into Mexico to arm drug cartels, says the U.S. media and government. That is a bunch of government and media nonsense. The cartels aren't arming themselves from U.S. gun stores with semi-auto AR15 and AK47 rifles. They've moved on up. Not to completely dismiss arms moving into Mexico from the U.S., but it is not as it seems when the U.S. media tells the story. The firearms moving across the border are semi-auto rifles and handguns sold to middle class or wealthy Mexicans seeking personal protection from criminals that have no connections in Mexico with gun runners. For the most part the wealthy in Mexico are targets of criminal elements, so they have no intention of connecting up with them to buy a self-defense firearm. You're better off buying a weapon from someone within the Mexican government than buying it from the criminal element, namely a drug cartel.
Cartels buy their arms from countries around the world, most any place where military weapons can be purchased on the black market, or from countries wishing to destabilize North America. They arm themselves from a worldwide black market of full auto military weapons including grenades, land mines and RPGs. They also "procure" their weapons from the less than savory from within the Mexican military.
The drug cartels can easily afford to fly their weaponry into Mexico using their own fleet of aircraft on to remote airfields, or land them on remote Mexican shores from their fleet of vessels. They do it with drugs all of the time. Drug cartels buying semi-auto AR15 or AK rifles from U.S. gun dealers is viewed as a joke by Mexico's drug cartel, most Mexicans, and unfortunately by the Mexican government. The only people fooled by all the political rhetoric are Americans listening to the likes of Attorney General Eric Holder and other anti-gun politicians.
Mexico has a gun problem, just like they have a drug problem and both the U.S. and Mexican governments are trying to place the blame on U.S. gun owners. U.S. gun owners aren't the problem. Mexico is the problem. The government is corrupt from the lowest level law enforcement officer shaking down American tourists for traffic violations, to officials and politicians highly placed within the Mexican government, including elements within the military. Everyone knows it. Everyone in Mexico knows it. Every law enforcement official in the U.S. knows it, and everyone in our government knows it. And anyone who has worked for any length of time within border cities and lived in the local community knows it. This is taking a Mexican problem, blaming the U.S. by turning it into a crisis in order further an agenda, and Eric Holder and President Obama knows it and they are taking advantage of it.
The next time you see a news report of illegal full-auto weapons and grenades being found here in the U.S., you know where they came from. It wasn't from a gun store in Tucson or Phoenix. The administration is right that gun trafficking along the U.S./Mexico border is a problem. Not only do we have drugs and illegal aliens coming in our southern border, but we also have military arms and explosives coming into our country illegally as well. That's the issue and our government is being disingenuous in its argument.
This AP news report published today is typical of what is going on. It is disgustingly biased and flat wrong: AP report for Detroit Free Press Don't believe me and what I say? See what the Latin American Herald is saying about a recent arrest of cartel members and their weaponry in Mexico. No, the items listed weren't purchased at a gun store in Phoenix or Tucson. Grenades and RPGs are illegal in the U.S.: LAH Story
GunNewsDaily authorizes the distribution of this commentary providing that GunNewsDaily.com is recognized as the originating source.
Remembering the Past: Nazi's, Racism, and Modern Gun Control
Saturday, 01 August 2009 00:00 | Author: William M Lolli |
Tim O'Brien of the Detroit News reminds us of the story of Dr. Henry Sweet, a black man who was found not guilty of using a gun for self defense against an angry racist mob: {sidebar id=1} "Black history can provide timely lessons that put today's policy debates in a new light. Take, for instance, the African-American experience with the right to self-defense.
"The story starts in September 1925, when Dr. Ossian Sweet moved his family into a two-story home on the corner of Garland and Charlevoix on Detroit's east side. A prominent gynecologist and a graduate of Howard University medical school, Dr. Sweet had studied and worked in Europe - including a stint with Nobel Prize winner Madame Curie in Paris - before settling in Detroit."
The story continues describing how Dr. Sweet, in an attempt to defend his family from the racist mob that was screaming "Here's niggers. Get them Get them"-- used his weapon to defend his family. There were two trials. The first ended in mistrial. Dr. Sweet - patriot and gun owner
O'Brien continues: "At the second trial, [defense lawyer Clarence] Darrow never denied that his sole, remaining client may have fired the fatal shot, but argued that the defendant was justified and acting in self-defense. The second jury (also all-white) took barely three hours to return a "not guilty" verdict.
"As a consequence of this incident, the Ku Klux Klan - which operated much more openly in those days - lobbied for and obtained the first round of restrictive gun legislation in Michigan.
"The Public Acts of 1927 included the requirement that citizens obtain government-issued "purchase permits" following mandatory "safety inspections." Even then, the opportunity to legally carry the weapon would be granted only at the whim of (unaccountable) county "gun boards."
"Following racial unrest in major American cities across the country in the early to mid-'60s - culminating in "the long, hot summer" of 1967 - the next round of restrictions came from the federal government in the form of the Gun Control Act of 1968. This legislation was modeled on the German Weapons Law of 1938 enacted by the Nazi government.
"A revealing feature of the contemporary gun control movement has been the persistent drive to ban inexpensive handguns often disparagingly called "Saturday Night Specials" - an epithet based on an old racist line that any kind of riotous going-on was a "Niggertown Saturday Night." And, indeed, it is pretty obvious that, at the least, a ban on inexpensive weapons targets poor people, if not strictly minorities.
"None of this has proved effective in stemming violent crime because criminals, by definition, do not respect the law. Nevertheless, those who want to fully disarm the law-abiding have discovered a new tactic.
Mr. O'Brien makes sound, valid historical points. Consider that we as law-abiding, gun owners need to be familiar with our American heritage and history. Consider also that we have a responsibility to understand the tactics of the enemies of that heritage.
In World War II our parents and grandparents risked their lives to save the world from a dominating force; a force that wanted to conquer the world and enslave it. We, today, call it enslavement, but back then the Nazi's were trying to "liberate" Europe, "liberate" Africa, and had designs to "liberate" America.
Liberate?
With the help of scholar Thomas Colton Ruthford, I present this list for you to add to your mental armament. Consider the claims of the Nazi's and the claims of some liberals today:
* First, the term "Nazi" was gutter slang for the verb "to nationalize".
* The Bider-Mienhoff gang gave themselves the moniker "Nazi" during their early struggles.
* The official title of the Nazi Party was "The National Socialist Workers Party of Germany".
* Hitler and the Brownshirts advocated the nationalization of education, health care, transportation, national resources, manufacturing, distribution, and law enforcement.
* Hitler came to power by turning the working class, unemployed, and academic elite against the conservative republic.
* After der fuhrer's election ceased being a political conspiracy and was transformed into a fashionable social phenomenon, party membership was especially popular with educators, bureaucrats, and the press.
* Being a Nazi was politically correct. They called themselves "The Children of the New Age of World Order" and looked down their noses at everyone else. As Hitler acquired more power, he referred to his critics as "The Dark Forces of Anarchy and Hatred".
* Anyone who questioned Nazi high-handedness in the German press was branded a "Conservative Reactionary".
* The Nazi reign of terror began with false news reports on the Jews, Bohemians, and Gypsies who were said to be arming themselves to overthrow the "New World Order". Hitler demanded that all good people register their guns so that they wouldn't fall into the hands of "terrorists and madmen".
* Right wing fanatics of the "Old Order" who protested firearms registration were arrested by the S.S. and put in jail for "fomenting hatred against the Government of the German people".
* Then the Reichstag (government building) was blown up and Hitler forced legislative passage of an "Emergency Anti-Terrorist Act" through Parliament that gave the Gestapo extraordinary powers and suspended personal liberties.
* The leader then declared that for the well-being of the German people, all private firearms were to be confiscated by the Gestapo and the Wermotten (federal law enforcement and military).
* German citizens who refused to surrender their guns when the "jack-boots" (Gestapo) came calling, were murdered in their homes. By the way, the Gestapo were the federal police service of the Third Reich.
* When the Policia Bewakken, or local police, refused to take away guns from townsfolk, they themselves were disarmed and dragged out into the street and shot to death by the S.A. and the S.S.
* When local ministers spoke out against these atrocities, they were imprisoned and never seen again.
* The Gestapo began to confiscate and seize the homes, businesses, bank accounts, and personal belongings of wealthy conservative citizens who had prospered in the old Republic.
* Pamphleteers who urged revolt against the Nazis were shot on site by national law enforcement and the military.
* Gypsies and Jews were detained and sent to labor camps. Mountain roads throughout central Europe were closed to prevent the escape of fugitives into the wilderness, and to prevent the movement and concealment of partisan resistance fighters.
* Public schools rewrote history and Hitler youth groups taught the children to report their parents to their teachers for anti-Nazi remarks. Such parents disappeared.
* Pagan animism became the state religion of the Third Reich and Christians were widely condemned as "right wing fanatics".
* Millions of books were burned first and then people. Millions of them burned in huge ovens after they were first gassed to death.
* Unmarried women were paid large sums of money to have babies out of wedlock and then given medals for it.
* Evil was declared as being good, and good was condemned as being evil. World Order was coming and the German people were going to be the "peacekeepers".
Our liberties are so precious and so fragile. We can learn a lesson or two from the Jews in how to preserve our American heritage of freedom for our children and our grandchildren.
We need to remind ourselves not only of the glory and blessings of America: the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and our continued Manifest Destiny. But we also must remind ourselves of the price it cost many: the blood shed during the many wars-- wars that were not in vain. Men and women who bore arms to defend their neighbors and friends.
Men like Dr. Sweet, who before their were Nazi's, were fighting the Nazi's.
Men like Charlton Heston, after we thought the Nazi's were gone, are still fighting the Nazi's.
Do you hear the rallying call to preserve your heritage and your liberties? Get involved. The next generation will remember you and thank you for their gift of freedom.
Justice System Needs Crime
Friday, 31 July 2009 17:17 | Author: William M Lolli |
Former candidate for the U.S. Senate Bruce Herschensohn once said, "A bureaucracy has an investment in failure...As long as they don't succeed, they have a job."
I ask you to ponder those words carefully. Most people would agree that an obvious application of Mr. Herschensohn's poignant observation would be the welfare system. However I am going to propose, on the basis of Mr. Herschensohn's principle, a radical concept: that law enforcement-- particularly the Federal bureaucratic growth of law enforcement agencies to include the entire Justice and jurisprudence system-- has a vested interest in crime.
Contributor Commentaries
Contributor's Commentaries