Gun Violence Epidemic in Latin America, Despite Strict Rules in Some Countries
Gun Violence Epidemic in Latin America, Despite Strict Rules in Some Countries
AS/COA’s Carin Zissis discusses Mexico’s gun policies as well as the effects of U.S. gun laws on Mexico.
As President Obama announced 23 executive actions pertaining to gun ownership in the U.S., violent crime levels in some Latin American countries are at almost epidemic levels despite strict gun control laws in places like Mexico and Venezuela.
The Venezuelan capital of Caracas saw over 3,400 murders last year and a Mexican research group, the Citizen's Council for Public Security and Justice, ranked five of its country’s cities among the top 10 most violent in the world.
“Prohibition, by and large, doesn’t work. Or when it does work, only law-abiding citizens obey the law,” said professor Bob Cottrol of George Washington University Law School. “When guns are outlawed, only outlaws have guns….”
“The fact that everyone is required to re-register their gun every year already creates a bureaucratic barrier in itself to owning a weapon,” said Carin Zissis, the editor-in-chief of the Americas Society/Council of the Americas online….
Even with these restrictions, a large number of Mexicans own firearms. An estimated 15.5 million Mexicans have guns, but only 2.8 million of those guns are registered, according to GunPolicy.org.
One theory about the proliferation of unregistered firearms in Mexico is that the country permits the private sale of firearms. Most experts, however, attribute these disparate figures to arms smuggling across the U.S.-Mexico border….
“The difference between Mexico and the rest of Latin America is its location,” Zissis said. “Bordering a country that has lax laws on guns will help create this problem…”
