NSSF and NRA Responds to Mexico's Lawsuit Against US Gun Companies

"Socalj" for Borderland Beat

"The Mexican government is responsible for rampant crime and corruption within its own borders," said Lawrence G. Keane, NSSF Senior Vice President. (Photo art: Jovani Pérez Silva / Infobae)

After the Mexican government sued 11 arms manufacturers and suppliers in the United States, the Industrial Association of Arms Trade (NSSF) and the National Rifle Association (NRA) responded to the accusations and denied that they are part of a negligent business. NSSF, the firearm industry trade association, rejects Mexico’s allegations that US firearm manufacturers participated in negligent business practices. All firearms sold at retail within the United States are sold in accordance with federal and state laws, with an FBI background check and forms completed. Allegations of wholesale cross-border gun trafficking are patently and demonstrably false.

The lawsuit was filed in federal court in Boston, Massachusetts, and is not against the US government, so it should not be considered a diplomatic dispute, insisted Mexican officials led by Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard. "The Mexican government is responsible for rampant crime and corruption within its own borders," said Lawrence G. Keane, NSSF Senior Vice President.

He added that the cartels use weapons illegally brought to Mexico or stolen from its armed forces and police. "Rather than looking for the scapegoat of law-abiding US companies, Mexican authorities should focus their efforts on bringing the cartels to justice," Keane attacked.

With the action promoted by Mexico, at least $10 billion USD is sought in reparation payments against the companies: Smith & Wesson; Barrett Firearms Manufacturing; Beretta USA; Beretta Holding; Century International Arms; Colt's Manufacturing Company; Glock, Inc .; Glock Ges.mbH; Sturm, Ruger & Co .; and Witmer Public Safety Group and Interstate Arms, both providers.

“This lawsuit brought by a US gun control group representing Mexico is an affront to US sovereignty and a threat to the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding Americans to own and bear arms. A right denied to the Mexican people who cannot defend themselves from the cartels, ” said the NSSF representative.

For its part, the National Rifle Association, which defends the right to possess weapons for defense or recreational use in the United States, suggested that there could also be lawsuits from Mexico against the Justice Department of former President Barack Obama and who served as a prosecutor in that administration, Eric Holder. And it is in these efforts that "the deadly and disastrous" Fast and Furious operation was authorized, with which 2,500 weapons were authorized with illegal entry into Mexican territory to track them, but that in the end, they ended up in the hands of cartels.

The NSSF assured, with data from 2008, that 12% of weapons seized in Mexico were purchased in the United States, and of the 30,000 that were seized from criminals, only 7,200 were sent to the Agency for Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) for follow-up. However, of that amount, only 3,480 were proven to be of American origin.

He charged that duplicate serial numbers are being sent, which represents a distortion of statistics. In addition, which State Department cables indicate that the most lethal weapons used by the cartels in Mexico come from arsenals in Central America. “Mexican soldiers continue to desert to work for the drug cartels, taking their US-made service rifles with them. In recent years, the number of defections has skyrocketed to more than 150,000.″

As soon as the NSSF's position was fixed, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SRE) reversed that a dispute in the media was foreseeable and not before the judge. "The defendants design, market, distribute and sell weapons in a way that they know they arm the drug cartels in Mexico," accused the SRE as reported on by Borderland Beat.

It alleged that between 70% and 90% of the weapons recovered at crime scenes come from the United States. And even when the US government urged companies to verify that they did not sell weapons to criminals in 2001, these companies refused. The Foreign Ministry accuses that the defendants use reckless and corrupt arms dealers, as well as dangerous and illegal sales practices used by the cartels to obtain their weapons. Furthermore, they design these weapons to be easily modified to fire automatically and to be easily transferable in the criminal market.

"This lawsuit is not against the arms trade, which seeks a responsible trade where if the defendant companies were truly governed by the law, they would have stricter commercial practices," the Mexican agency revoked.

According to the SRE, it is intended that there are no advertisements of high-power weapons for military purposes among the civilian population. Distributors and sellers are penalized for violating US law; there is cooperation with authorities to follow the commercial chain route with rifles and pistols used in crimes in Mexico, and do not direct advertising to criminal groups.

Sources Infobae & NSSF