NPR blames Juarez murders on 2nd Amendment

[MikeWaters]

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/s...oryId=98135986

Oscar Maines, who teaches criminology at the Autonomous University of Ciudad Juarez, says this is also an American problem.

"The power that the drug cartels have is fueled by the consumption of drugs in the United States," he says.

He points out that the cartels also get their arsenals of high-powered weapons north of the border.

"The quantity of weapons that the criminals have at their disposition is enormous," Maines says. "I understand the difficulty of the federal government to fight these. It can be done, because I don't think that the cartels are more powerful than the state at this moment."

But the situation continues to get worse in Juarez, and the violence continues to rise. November was one of the deadliest months ever in the city, with 184 people executed.

Prior to hearing this on NPR yesterday evening, the NRA had already released a statement:

Every now and then, the national media will report on the drug violence plaguing Mexico, and will try to place the blame on American gun shows or gun owners. But when grenades are flying through the air in Monterrey, I think it's safe to say the law-abiding gun owners in the United States aren't to blame.

So who is? As the Associated Press points out, corruption is widespread, and may reach the highest levels of government. If drug gangs are getting things like grenades and fully automatic rifles, you can't help but wonder about the corruption in the Mexican military as well.

The next time the national media try to say that Mexico's violence is the fault of the Second Amendment, ask yourself why some reporters are so eager to blame U.S. gun owners instead of the people responsible for the drug trade, the corruption and the violence.