Debunking the “90 percent of guns used in Mexican crimes are American” lie
Excellent myth-buster piece from William La Jeunesse and Maxim Lott at Fox News on an anti-gun rights lie. Countering the double-barreled propaganda from both the gun controllers and the open-borders lobby is a job most of the MSM refuses to do:
You’ve heard this shocking “fact” before — on TV and radio, in newspapers, on the Internet and from the highest politicians in the land: 90 percent of the weapons used to commit crimes in Mexico come from the United States.
– Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said it to reporters on a flight to Mexico City.
– CBS newsman Bob Schieffer referred to it while interviewing President Obama.
– California Sen. Dianne Feinstein said at a Senate hearing: “It is unacceptable to have 90 percent of the guns that are picked up in Mexico and used to shoot judges, police officers and mayors … come from the United States.”
– William Hoover, assistant director for field operations at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, testified in the House of Representatives that “there is more than enough evidence to indicate that over 90 percent of the firearms that have either been recovered in, or interdicted in transport to Mexico, originated from various sources within the United States.”
There’s just one problem with the 90 percent “statistic” and it’s a big one:
It’s just not true.
In fact, it’s not even close. By all accounts, it’s probably around 17 percent.
What’s true, an ATF spokeswoman told FOXNews.com, in a clarification of the statistic used by her own agency’s assistant director, “is that over 90 percent of the traced firearms originate from the U.S.”
But a large percentage of the guns recovered in Mexico do not get sent back to the U.S. for tracing, because it is obvious from their markings that they do not come from the U.S.
See what others have said
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Trackbacks
- Gun Lies « Patriot Burr
- ALERT: 95% of guns used in Mexican crimes made in U.S. by Illegal Mexicans
- Fox News Busts Myth on Guns to Mexico « Political Byline
- Jeremiah Films
- Hezbollah Uses Mexican Drug Routes to Enter U.S. | The Great Illuminator
- Was Hillary’s Stupid Question Intentional? « Jim Blazsik
- Jane Q. Republican
- Mexi-Guns: The Big Lie « Jane Q. Republican
- About those guns coming from the US, umm, never mind | Radio Vice Online
- ScoopThis.Org » Only a small fraction of guns in Mexico come from U.S. (NOT 90 PERCENT)
- Yep, the “90 percent of guns used in Mexican crimes are American” line ia BS! « The Daley Gator
- 83% of Guns in Mexico Drug Cartel hands are NOT from the U.S. « The Liberty Boys
- Frugal Sheriff: Joe Arpaio Targeted by Democrat Feds for Arresting Illegal Aliens in AZ « Frugal Café Blog Zone
- Obama parrots caught lying on Mexican guns « Reformed Musings
- Shame on Phoenix Mayor Gordon - Accuses Sheriff Arpaio & County Police of Being Racists for Enforcing Illegal Immigration Laws | Videos « Frugal Café Blog Zone
- Gun Control and Other Liberal Hogwash, through ‘60 Minutes’ Eyes « Frugal Café Blog Zone
- Fausta’s Blog » Blog Archive » The Myth of 90 Percent: Only a Small Fraction of Guns in Mexico Come From U.S
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What a surprise and, how many U.S. weapons were diverted from the Mexican military ? Crickets chirping…
Meanwhile, Napolitano is on the border today, talking about deploying technology to stop the flow of guns to Mexico. Not, you’ll note, to stop the flow of illegals, terrorists, and drugs into the US.
Did you expect a clinton to tell the truth?They can’t handle the truth !
This is just like John Lott’s “More guns, Less crime.” You can prove anything you want, but the liberals “just know” that guns are the problem.
Well, you know its all our fault…let’s start there and get up some stats that prove it.
Thanks for the link to that, Ms. Malkin, that’s one of many fear mongering statistics that’s been setting off my B.S. meter.
I’m also tired of the claims that when cartels are apparently using fully auto weapons, rocket launchers, and grenades, that somehow equates to a problem that an assault weapons ban will solve. I may just be a moron down here in Texas, but I can’t seem to find the gun shops selling grenades, rockets, and automatic weapons.
That’s a liberal for you: gutless and emotional.
Archie Bunker, 1971
Try and buy 50 rifles at one time or over weeks and see what that gets you. You have to suspend reality to buy this crap.
Even a gun dealer would have trouble buying 50 rifles. And if you bought more than one on a single day, the ATF would investigate.
So is Greta going to correct the record?
Does she ever ?
I have a solution. Give every American who buys a gun from a U.S. source and the gun seller a tax credit.
This will serve as an incentive to sell American guns to Americans instead of foreigners.
I’d LOVE to see Di Fi’s and Barbie Boxer’s reaction to that proposal.
They know the statistic isn’t true, but they are rabid about taking away your guns, and will say anything to do so.
Just like the lie about how many kids are homeless, so they can force national health care on everyone.
They will literally say anything to enact their agenda.
Ditto, Aloha.
Investigative journalism is an oxy-moron.
I always thought it was the other way around: 90% of US crimes are committed with guns smuggled into the US from Mexico.
Seriously, I think obama has a mental dysfunction. How could anyone believe that Mexico, a country with very little enforcement of the law, needs to import guns from the US? It’s cheaper to get guns from Brazil.
I’ll admit to not being much of a fan of FoxNews, but… the reports I have seen of William La Jeunesse’s reporting on border and illegal immigration issues have been quite good in the past. Kudos to him – excellent job sir. Please keep up the great work.
Slightly OT, but if they treated 2nd Amendment rights the same way they do the ‘emanations’ of ‘penumbra’ that are abortion “rights”, if you wanted a firearm and couldn’t afford one the government would pay for one for you; if you were underage and wanted a firearm, but didn’t want your parents to know, you could get one anyway…
sigh.
Michelle, this lie has been perpetuated in Univision and Telemundo. I can not tell you how many times I and a Mexican American I work with argue the falseness of this ‘90%’ stat. These two media outlets are hugely responsible for spreading this lie while the democrats spew them.
liberals and guns don’t mix. it get in the way of their white flags and I give up signs. as for napolitano someone should put her in a closet and take away the map.
You know what they do to old horses, right? That’s what we need to do with these morons. Another example of doctoring the data to incite the ignorant masses and dupe them into turning over their 2nd Amendment rights. We have a war brewing on our own southern border and our government tells everybody it’s our fault? Traitors. Liars. Fooled we’re not. This administration wants to take away OUR guns so we can’t defend ourselves against southern invaders or our own government. All part of the bigger agenda.
These people will say whatever to take our guns. Only way, ‘from my cold dead hands’.
L
Since when has a Clinton cared about what is truth what is fact – either of them?
I suppose it depends on what the definition of “is” is.
And, yet, they get elected!
Stupid voters.
Question for BO’s “Blame America First” foreign policy advisers: if our insatiable appetite for illegal drugs have caused the unrest on the southern border, then why are we NOT seeing the same problem with our neighbors from the north?
Solution: militarize the border. shoot the first 100 people that cross over illegally and in a week the border will quiet down. Problem gone.
I knew this story was B.S. from the start… Kinda like our local RAG… When it really wants to fire up the PRO-ILLEGAL crowd, it runs a story with the line SOURCES TELL THE ARIZONA REPUBLIC… It never names the sources,or even the SOURCE of the SOURCES… Instant FLAG, MSM B.S. for sure… The RAG ran a photo with some confiscated weapons… A reader called a local talk radio show… Said he would loke to know where he could get an RPG… If for no other reason, he would just like to touch one…
never believed that BS number…the mexican gangs like Los Zetas are using automatic weapons, grenade launchers, etc…military weapons.
they’re gettting them from the mexican military themselves or china.
HEH
In Haiti, you can buy the best stuff directly from the UN.
Now you’ve defined the problem. Solutions anyone? We saw what happens when one family tried the “pry it from my cold dead hands” approach at Ruby Ridge during the Clinton administration.
Whenever I think we’ve about reached the end of reason in this country, our government and press take it one step further.
Lemme see here. People go to a location where guns are readily available, and crime is lower. Then, take the guns to a location where guns are not readily available, and crime is higher. But, the high crime rate is the fault of the gun?
If guns cause crime, then my home should be one of the most violent places on earth. But, I’ve never seen a .357 crawl out of my safe and hurt anyone.
I think the Useless Nitwits are just one step above the Mafia.
We told them to build the fence.
Now we know why they had a million and one excuses as to why the fence just couldn’t be built … Can’t pass up a crisis (which was wholly preventable, btw) to make yet another power grab and attempt take away more freedoms from Americans.
I still want to know where you get grenades, launchers, rockets and RPGs in the USA. It sure isn’t gun shows, as Hillary implied.
Who was the lying ATFBE agent on the Greta show? Note it’s not ATF, its ATFBE, a five letter agency, not a three. Lower rank in the bureaucratic pecking order, the more letters.
Hey QT!!!
They did build the fence – on their southern border.
Fight fire with fire…
“90% of US crime committed by illegal aliens smuggled in from Mexico.”
Oh wait… that one might actually be true!
How about: “90% of the country thinks Joe Biden’s daughter snorts cocaine smuggled into the US across the Mexican border.”
Now dammit, that one might be true too.
“90% of Democrats have either intentional or unintentional tax return errors totalling millions of dollars in unpaid taxes. Or ‘unclaimed, unfounded allegations of uncollected taxation’”.
Crap! See, I’m just no damn good at making this stuff up. I could never get a job in the Obama Administration!
You can only trace guns with serial numbers! All of this whole flap is over is getting rid of the 2nd Amendment! From my cold dead fingers!
ATFBE evolved out of ATF – they’re now called “Alcohol Tobacco Firearms Bombs & Explosives” I believe. We had an ATF guy teach a portion of a handgun class I took and he was all for citizens to be armed.
Our elected critters must think we’re complete morons. The gun manufacturers are so regulated, do they honestly for a minute think they could illegally sell hundreds/let alone thousands of weapons and it would go unnoticed by the Feds? I’m thinking every time a piece has a number stamped on it’s parts they have to account where that weapon is sold and to whom? This is worse than BS, it’s complete fabrication of false information.
Statistics do not lie, but lib-liars use statistics.
BATFE is Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.
ATF is a nickname.
That’s because agenda has taken precedence over integrity.
You speak the wrong language, Dude. English is not the language in which these transactions are conducted.
Learn Arabic.
Then you’ll be able to get quantity discounts.
Hey, where ARE all those fully automatic machine guns and fully automatic assault weapons, that Hillary wants to protect everyone against? I go to gun shows and gun stores, I haven’t seen any yet. Maybe it has something to do with Hillary and other anti-gun liberals knowing that most of their followers will blindly believe anything they say. Yes, that’s it.
I received an e-mail dispatch from Michael Yon, quoting the story. If you don’t know of Yon, get yourself over to his website. He’ll give you the straight skinny on what’s happening in the bad parts of the world, & he isn’t some butt munching, pansified MSM reporter. Buy his books to help support him.
THose Bozo’s … Clinton and the others…will never use the real numbers.
Michell,
Most likely the firearms are not sent for tracing because a majority of those firearms would be traced to a legitimate Foreign Military Sale contract between the Government of the United States to the Government of Mexico.
The facts are the Mexican Army is corrupt, from their leadership on down to the lowest peon, and they are the ones responsible for arming the cartels, not some gun shop in Chicago or Denver.
Until Mexico allows tracing of ALL seized arms we should stop all this nonsense about trying to interdict alleged gunrunners heading south.
Seriously.
This is how they are going to secure our border in order to keep you in.
Anyone want to bet only Fox covers this story?
democraps never let the truth get in the way of their lies.
What about the ammo I’ve shot at the range that comes from Brazil? Does that mean the Brazilians are weaponizing white trash like me? The anti-gun weasels will pick any “statistic” out of a discussion to try and make their point, truth be damned. They may as well say that all Mexican “banditos” grew up on tacos, so we must outlaw tacos.
Would the term “lying SOBs” be too harsh?
Governor, now Homeland Security Chief Napolitano repeats that 90% lie, Arizona’s Democrat Attorney General repeats it-newspapers and TV.
Tell a Lie big enough and long enough and the weakling and coward will believe it.
SOURCES TELL THE ARIZONA REPUBLIC another dying leftover rag.
Automatic, semiautomatic, what difference does it make? They don’t know the difference, and aren’t interested in knowing. It’s like the term “assault rifle”. Sounds frightening, doesn’t it? Scares the bejeesus out of people. ANY rifle or shotgun with a short barrel can be considered an assault weapon. My autoload shotgun is considered one in Connecticut. I won’t be moving there anytime soon. Look at the morons they vote for.
Thanks, John Deaux #37
I knew the wording was sorta close
for the ‘new’ agency BATFE. From what we learned in that class they are all over the map of so many different crime scenes. Very interesting, and seldom taking any credit.
Somehow I don’t think the drug cartels are going to pay retail for any weapons purchased in the U.S. either.
Why do we believe anything the ATF verifies? It’s not like they have ‘Firearms’ in their title or anything…..oh. wait.
Another Goverment tactic to Disarm The American People!
They are the ones supplying those weapons to THE MEXICAN GOVERMENT… And the Corrupt Govt. Officials are selling those weapons and pocketing the money.
So, DONT BELIEVE EVERYTHING YOUR GOVT. says.
I never believed it to begin with for two reasons:
1. It came from a Democrat
2. Why buy a US gun in Mexico for $1000 when you can by a Chinese made AK in Mexico for $100?
Regardless, this is just their first step in a new massive gun control law. It is coming. Get ready.
Besides, it’s just rude to deride the USA whilst in another country…
And of course we all see the set up, right? In two or three months, there will be a press release claiming that the U.S. has virtually stopped all the trafficking of weapons from the U.S. into Mexico. Victory! U.S. interdiction works.
Of course, if the premise is initially wrong, so will the results. Conclusion? It’s all about appearances.
I just went to my local gun dealer and asked if he had any hand grenades, 50 caliber machine guns, and other weapons the ATF is apparently saying are being bought legally in America in large quantities. He assured me they are still illegal. So….
Here’s how we stop these illegal gun traffic, declare America to be a sanctuary nation for drug traffickers. If they just declare their guns at the border, we won’t ask about the drugs.
Why not? It’s worked wonders in controlling illegal immigrant gang-related crime in LA!
I’ve read the most of the weapons come from the corrupt mexican military and police. Why in the hell are we giving them blackhawk choppers then? I think the number Mizz Hillary used was 60 – - maybe more…
Just sayin’ – - does it make sense to give sophisticated weapons to a government that is so corrupt that the drug lords they are fighting end up with them?
I am a pretty big gun collector and from what I have seen in pics of the cache of weapons siezed, not many of those guns come from the USA. If so I wanna know where you get RPGs in the states! I can’t wait till mandatory gun registration hits everyone. You won’t be hearing from me again ( many applaud) because I’ll be in prison cuz I won’t be registering my guns.
90% of crimes in Mexico are committed with U.S. guns? So what? 100% of crimes are committed by criminals. The liberals always figure a way to blame American.
Maybe Hills is talking about the guns and drugs that were brought in to Mena under Bill’s watch. I am sure she can tell you all about it. Or maybe its left over guns from Waco.
http://www.clintonmemoriallibrary.com/clintbodycnt.html
You have to remember that Napolitano went to law school in New Mexico. Lawyers here have no idea what the truth is. Arizona had Napolitano as governor and we got Richardson.We both lost!
Since when do they care what the ‘facts” are??? I’ve watched hearings about the border where sheriffs and others told the truth of what is going on time and time again. They totally ignore it! They do NOT care! I called Kerrys office and said Gee all of a sudden he discovered there is a border. (But oh those are potential voters so that’s okay.) She told me I was out of line….Oh really? Well he and his fellow criminal politicians are the ones out of line as they have put Americans in harms way. I am way past having respect for these self-serving, crap covered slimeballs!
Excellent! Finally a voice speaking the truth. Wayne LaPierre has been on the air trying to make the same point.
Zorro
Life Member NRA
Wonder if our Sec. of State will be as pro-active about the Iranians smuggling weapons into Iraq to murder our people?
I am just an dumb cluck from Texas so
I could never figure out where they were coming up with the 90% figure. Now I know where they come up with the figure, out of thin air. Another case of Mexico trying to pass the blame and do-gooders trying to prove we need to ban guns.
I read a book about a paratrooper division that was dropped behind German lines. They freed Holland and asked one Dutchman why they didn’t get their guns and shot the invading Nazis. The response was that in the name of disarmement, the Dutch government had taken up all the guns from private citizens in the mid-thirties.
Just how long has it been now that we could ever believe anything our politicians say or is regurgitated in the MSM? Trust is a terrible tghing to waste!
Two other supporting stories that have received ZERO attention.
LA TIMES (no friend to conservatives or the 2nd amendment) ran a full article detailing that most all weapons in Cartel hands are coming from International Arms dealers and being smuggled up from central america.
* Bonus quote was Police saying that they ARE ONLY ARMED WITH SEMI AUTO “MILITARY” STYLE RIFLES AND ARE HOPELESSLY OUTGUNNED.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationwo…626,full.story
Second article deals witht the dismissal of the case against a AZ gun store owner accused of selling mass guns to the cartels. Jusge threw out the case because there was ZERO EVIDENCE the owner had made a single illegal sale to anyone.
http://www.azcentral.com/community/p…ns0318-ON.html
See an opportunity. Inflate the figures and throw in a bit of a lie. Then use the “modified” story to support your politics. So what else is new with the MSM or our politicians today?
Here is how you stop the violence in Mexico overnight without taking Americans Constitutional rights away from them, decriminalize drugs and stop the failed war on drugs.
We should outright legalize marijuana and quit wasting billions every year on the failed war on drugs. If we taxed it like we do alcohol, the Government could lower our taxes. California already has a booming marijuana business in northern California.
Despite the propaganda printed in most main stream newspapers, drug use does not increase when it is legalized, it actually decreases with the violence on the streets between gangs being eliminated. Desperate for credibility, drug squads are misleading the public by linking grass and guns together in
staged media events. Violence is simply the timeless method of regulating market-share during prohibition and is, thus, a creation of criminal black markets, not a product of pot smoking.
In Switzerland, crime dropped 60% after they went to heroin maintenance instead of throwing heroin addicts in prison. Isn’t it time we stop taking the Freedom and Liberty away from Americans and do the right thing?
BTW-The 50 Caliber machine guns came from only one source, the Mexican military. The US Military will not sell any 50cal to anyone but another Government Military since they are no longer manufactured.
I am retired Law Enforcement and am sick of the grandstanding on this issue.Prohibition did not work in the 1920’s era and it is not working now.
The next question is: Why aren’t these zealots being taken to task (legally, perhaps) for perpetuating these blatant lies?
The fact that most the guns come from America, may be true.
We just need to verify that these are the same guns given to the Mexican Government to use against drug cartels. Because the corrupt Mexican Government sold the same guns to the cartels. Damn good profit when there free.
But then I haven’t found any grenades or RPG’s in any of the gun stores I frequent.