Quote:
Originally Posted by
oscardeuce http:///t/388324/fast-and-furious-gun-walker/80#post_3427086
That's more than a "little modification" in fact you need a registered ( pre may 1986 ) auto sear in addition to parts (selector switch, hammer and disconnector) from another more controlled gun ( M-16) to make it work. Granted things are much different south of the border, and also for those willing to break the law, but it is not as easy as you seem to describe. According to your article the bolt carries have been modified by Colt ( and I would assume other SA AR mfg's to make it more difficult. It is a quick trip to club fed and a heafty fine ( at least in the US.)
I'll give you that a cartel with 10- 15 gunsmiths may be able to put out a few of these a day, or buy them illegally, but that still does not excuse our gov't allowing guns over the border to prove a politial point.
That little device is a sort of "legal" way of doing it. If you file the sear pin down to a point, it will fire fully auto. Granted, once you pull the trigger it doesn't stop firing until the magazine is empty, but it shoots fully auto all the same. The Zetas and other major drug cartels don't play by any rules. When you have an organization that will blatently dump 30+ bodies out into the middle of a major highway in Monterrey in the middle of the day, do you think they care about whether they have illegal weapons? I was down in Torreon, Mexico a couple months ago, and we were driving back late to the hotel. Our driver came up to a sign in the middle of the road, and he said that we had to turn around and go a different direction. I asked him what the sign said, and essentially it stated "This area is not safe for public. Fire fights may ensue after 9PM." He told us the local drug cartels were having turf wars, and the Federales were trying to keep innocent people from getting hurt. A couple of nights later, we were driving down the same road, and came upon a bunch of large vehicles with lights shining all over the place. A Federale stopped us and said we should find another way to go. In the middle of the road, there were 3 or 4 bodies with multiple gun shots. Seems we just mised a fire fight between some cartel members and the Federales.
There's a reason Mexican authorities don't want normal citizens to have weapons. That's because no one can be trusted. In most of the larger towns, the local police are corrupt and work for the cartels. If anyone could own a gun, you'd essentially have what you have over in Iraq and Afghanistan. People would look for the slightest reason to shoot someone. If it wasn't because you were looking funny at them, it's because you have something they want - your car, your food, your money, your phone, your girlfriend.... Class warfare is so dramatic in Mexico, the disparity in incomes and what the Haves have over the Have Nots would give anyone a reason to pull out a weapon and start firing. Why do you think they sneak over here? It isn't always about job opportunities. It's simple survival. Stay in Mexico, and risk having your family shot or abducted, or come to the US and simply worry about being caught and sent back. Which life would you prefer?