[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 53 (Monday, March 30, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3981-S3982]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 COMPREHENSIVE APPROACH TO GUN VIOLENCE

  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, earlier this month, the Brady Center to 
Prevent Gun Violence released a report, ``Exporting Gun Violence,'' 
that documents how Mexican drug gangs are exploiting weak U.S. gun laws 
and corrupt gun sellers in the U.S. to amass arsenals of high powered 
guns. These guns have been used to kill thousands in Mexico and pose an 
increasingly grave security threat to both Mexico and the United 
States.
  Mexican law enforcement officials are increasingly being outgunned by

[[Page S3982]]

drug gangs bearing military-style assault weapons, .50 caliber sniper 
rifles and other high powered weapons that originate from the United 
States. According to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and 
Explosives, ATF, more than 7,770 guns recovered from crime scenes in 
Mexico were traced back to gun dealers in the U.S. during 2008, up from 
3,300 in 2007. The ATF has warned that an ``iron river of guns is 
streaming across the border at such a pace that some are being 
recovered in Mexico within days after their purchase in the U.S.''
  According to the U.S. Department of State's latest International 
Narcotics Control Strategy report, ``U.S.-purchased or stolen firearms 
account for an estimated 95 percent of Mexico's drug related 
killings.'' Unlike Mexico's tougher gun laws, unlicensed sellers in the 
U.S. are allowed to sell guns without a background check, civilians are 
permitted to purchase military-style assault weapons, and there are no 
limits on the quantity of guns that can be sold at any given time. In 
the U.S., a trafficker can purchase as many guns they want from an 
unlicensed seller, no questions asked.
  On March 17, 2009, both ADM James Stavridis, commander of the U.S. 
Southern Command, and GEN Gene Renaurt, commander of the U.S. Northern 
Command, testified during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, 
which I chaired, that the large flow of guns into Mexico and Central 
America from the U.S. is having a destabilizing impact in those 
countries. Many believe this destabilization could pose a significant 
national security threat to the U.S. According to the report, Mexican 
Attorney General Medina Mora has stated that, before the assault 
weapons ban in the U.S. was allowed to expire, only 21 percent of the 
weapons seized from traffickers were assault rifles, while today, it is 
more than half.
  President Obama has called for a comprehensive approach to the 
growing level of violence in Mexico. However, unless existing gun laws 
are strengthened, drug cartels and criminals in Mexico and the United 
States will continue to build their arsenals. We must act to close the 
gun show loophole, reinstate the assault weapons ban and enact other 
commonsense gun safety legislation.

                          ____________________