CNN Uses Graphic of Heavy-Caliber Machine Gun To Discuss "Assault Weapons Ban"

Cache Find in Mexico That an Assault Weapons Ban Would Have Little Effect On

Obama's trip to Mexico has ignited debate about how to curb drug cartel violence. Along with tanks and nuclear warheads, the above pictured weaponry is not legally allowed to be possessed by your average U.S. citizen. However, it was the featured graphic on an article discussing the pros and cons of Obama reinstituting the Assault Weapons Ban to halt trafficking South of the Border. It goes to show how we're failing to address the root problems of the violence in Mexico. From CNN:

Obama still supports reinstating the ban, as he did during the presidential campaign, but there are no plans to reintroduce it anytime soon, according to an administration official. Obama thinks more can be done to stop the illegal flow of weapons to Mexico within existing laws, the official said, noting that the president has taken steps to deploy more law enforcement to curb the illegal flows of drugs, weapons and cash in both directions across the border.

The Mexican drug cartels are often utilizing heavy weaponry that is only available to the military, and only about 17% of weapons seized in Mexico are being traced back to the states, but President Calderon of Mexico has been on a media blitz on American TV trying to drum up support for an Assault Weapons Ban in America. Certainly, we should take measures to assist Mexico in their war against the cartel thugs, but seeing how an AWB would have an effect on the violence is unclear. Mostly because the cartels could get and have gotten their weapons elsewhere and bringing weapons from the U.S. to Mexico is already illegal. Why not just enforce that law? The fact that the media continues to saturate this debate with little knowledge of already existing restrictions on firearms makes things more frustrating.

Also, another piece of disinformation is the DEA saying that the higher the bodycount in Mexico, the more successful the Drug War is being conducted. From NY Daily News:

The body count shows that Calderon's crackdown is "shrinking" the drug trade, and doesn't mean Mexico is becoming a failed state, another official said.

"It's not the harbinger of imminent failure, it's the signpost of success," said DEA intelligence chief Tony Placido.

Weird. If the purpose of the drug war is to protect people from self-destructive behavior, why is rampant cartel violence from people using corruption and murder to get an edge on the black-market beneficial to society? Obama doesn't strike me as a total numbskull on foreign policy, perhaps he'll finally realize that it's best to throw in the towel on the utopian promise of a drug-free America.