Mexico’s gun controls are strict and, when enumerated, read like a wish list for U.S. Senate Democrats. Think about it: For a Mexican citizen to legally acquire a gun, he or she must obtain a license, a process which requires them to pass a background check. That background check looks at criminal history, mental history, physical health and any past drug additions.
Making the background check even more onerous, CBS News reports, is the requirement that applicants submit six pieces of documentation: A birth certificate, a letter confirming employment, proof of a clean criminal record from the attorney general’s office in the applicant’s home state, a utility bill with current address, a copy of a government-issued ID and a federal social security number.
Additionally, the University of Sydney’s GunPolicy.org reports that the would-be gun purchaser has to prove a bona fide reason for getting a firearm. In this way, Mexico is like California or New Jersey, but the requirements are at a national level.
All firearms owned by Mexican citizens must subsequently be registered with Mexican authorities.
And for those who pass the background check, submit all the necessary documentation, and prove why they need a gun, the options for gun purchases are limited to government-approved weapons. Civilians are not allowed to possess weapons of war, including automatic firearms; sub-machine guns; machine guns; .357 Magnum revolvers and those greater than .38 caliber; handguns greater than 9 mm; rifles and carbines of .223, 7mm, 7.62 and .30 calibers; or shotguns with barrels shorter than 635 mm or greater than 12 gauge.
Mexican citizens who would like to carry a gun for self-defense must note that receiving permission to own a gun and receiving permission to carry one are two different things. In this way, Mexico is like Illinois, where you get a Firearm Owners Identification (FOID) card to own a gun for your home or business, but must go a step further and get a concealed-carry permit in order to carry the gun for self-defense.
The process for being able to carry a gun includes the submission of additional paperwork, including “third-party character references.” Such references are necessary “to carry pistols and revolvers.”
After all these gun controls—and many others that are not even listed here—one would think Mexico would be far safer than the United States; that it is the utopia that gun controllers in the U.S. Senate promise when they push gun restriction after gun restriction. In truth, however, Mexico is far more dangerous than the U.S.
In fact, Mexico is so dangerous that the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) lists Mexico as second only to Syria when it comes to “armed conflict.” And when you think about the fact that Syria is a war-torn nation, ravaged by years of unchecked civil war, the amount of violence required to rank Mexico as number two is breathtaking.
To bring the ramifications of this violence closer to home, consider CBS News’ August 2016 observation that “Mexico has a homicide rate more than five times higher than in the U.S.”
The truth is, the U.S. is not characterized by anything near the violence of other nations when honestly compared to those nations where citizens can keep arms for self-defense. In fact, an Oct. 22, 2016, Telegraph report—based on findings in the Small Arms Survey and the 2012 Congressional Research Serrvice Report—found the U.S. ranked number one in the world in per-capita gun ownership, but the U.S. did not even crack the top 10 when it came to firearm-related deaths.
Yes, this is contrary to everything the gun control lobby teaches and preaches. Yet unlike so many of their claims, these points are substantiated.
AWR Hawkins is the Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and host of Bullets with AWR Hawkins, a Breitbart News podcast. He is also the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.
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