Sunday, September 20, 2015

Meanwhile, south of the border,

“The army took away our high-powered weapons such as AK-47’s and AR-15 and left us with only shotguns, we can’t go up against grenades with our limited weaponry. We are on the brink of extinction; we are being killed with the complicity of the government.” Josefa Contreras, autodefensa leader in the area, denounced.
The Mexican government has had this policy for a long time: "We may not be able(or want to) stop the cartels, but we can deal with you uppity peasants!  Better you raped/beaten/robbed/tortured/murdered than we allow you to have sufficient arms to protect yourselves!"  And a lot of people seem to be pretty sick of it.

This keeps going, at some point there's going to be a serious blowup between citizens trying to stay alive and the government.  And it'll get nasty.  Think what the border will be like then...



5 comments:

Pawpaw said...

Interesting. I believe that back in the '60s Jack O'Connor said that the lever-action .30-30 was the most common rifle in Mexico. He saw lots of them on his hunting trips down there, and commented on their abundance. I wouldn't be surprised if people started looking in grandad's attic for the old repeaters.

skidmark said...

What's the old story about partisan armament programs? Sneak up on one & get his weapon & ammo. Then lather, rinse, repeat.

And how did they get AKs and ARs in the first place? Thought Mexico disallowed anything in any military caliber.

stay safe.

KM said...

If Mexico goes tits up in a civil war, the border will look EXACTLY like what the politicians in our country want it to like.
A tidal wave of "refugees" swarming over the USA.

And we won't be able to check to see if any of them have TB or are Iranian plants smuggled up from Venezuela because of empathy and shit.

Firehand said...

From what I've read, when the defense groups started up they began by grabbing cartel members and taking their weapons and ammo, then used those to help grab more memberes and THEIR gear.

Which worked until the Mexican government decided to act, and their first act was "You've got to give those up. Or else."

So those who obeyed are back to shotguns and .22 rifles. At least for now.


Yeah, I'd read that before as well, not only from O'Connor. A quick look at Wiki says the current law went into effect in 1971:
'Under these two articles, private citizens are generally restricted to semi-automatic handguns or revolvers of a caliber no greater than .380 (for home defense),[28] rifles no greater than .22, and shotguns no greater than a 12-gauge (hunting and shooting when a member of a club). Anything bigger than those calibers is considered for exclusive use of the military and strictly forbidden for civilian possession, as defined by Article 11 of the Federal Law of Firearms and Explosives.[29] Only citizens with collector permits may be authorized to possess firearms outside those permitted for civilian ownership.[30]'
Which would make those Winchesters illegal. Unless you've got an in with the local or national cops, of course.

Pawpaw said...

So those who obeyed are back to shotguns and .22 rifles. At least for now.

A .22 rifle is a nasty little bastard, properly employed.