Gun politics in Mexico

Mexican Firearms Registration Card

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Gun politics in Mexico have resulted in some of the strictest gun laws in the world. It is in many ways similar to the United Kingdom, except with much more severe prison terms for even the smallest gun law violations. On the other hand, possession of non-military-caliber small arms by citizens is largely a non-issue. Gun politics are thus not the major issue in Mexico that they are in the neighboring United States, since few Mexican citizens have any gun law difficulties.

Constitutional right to carry arms

Mexican constitutional rights have long included the right to carry arms. The 1857 Constitution included the right to carry arms:

Artículo 10: Todo hombre tiene derecho de poseer y portar armas para su seguridad y legítima defensa. La ley señalará cuáles son las prohibidas y la pena en que incurren los que las portaren.

Article 10: Every man has the right to have and to carry arms for his security and legitimate defense. The law will indicate which arms are prohibited and the penalty for those that will carry prohibited arms.

These rights have subsequently been reduced somewhat through the gradual changing of constitutions and laws. The Constitution of 1917, the current constitution in force and heavily-amended, grants Mexican citizens (and "Inmigrados"; see below) the right to possess firearms. However, this right does not include military firearms.

The Constitution of 1917, as amended, states:

Artículo 10: Los habitantes de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos tienen derecho a poseer armas en su domicilio, para seguridad y legítima defensa, con excepción de las prohibidas por la ley federal y de las reservadas para el uso exclusivo del Ejército, Armada, Fuerza Aérea y Guardia Nacional. La ley federal determinará los casos, condiciones, requisitos y lugares en que se podrá autorizar a los habitantes la portación de armas.

Article 10: The inhabitants of the United Mexican States have a right to arms in their homes, for security and legitimate defense, with the exception of arms prohibited by federal law and those reserved for the exclusive use of the Army, Navy, Air Force and National Guard. Federal law will determine the cases, conditions, requirements, and places in which the carrying of arms will be authorized to the inhabitants.

This right did not address the right of possession of arms outside one's home, farm or property.

Gun licensing and legislation for Mexican citizens

Ley Federal de Armas de Fuego y Explosivos (Federal Law of Firearms and Explosives)

Generally, citizens are restricted by law to:

• pistolas (handguns) of .380 Auto or .38 Special revolvers or smaller (.357 Magnum, .357 SIG, and 9x19mm Parabellum or larger are restricted)
• escopetas (shotguns) of 12 gauge or smaller, with barrels longer than 25 inches, and
• rifles (rifles) bolt action and semi-auto.

Handguns in calibers bigger than those mentioned above are forbidden from private ownership without a federal license and restrictions similar to the U.S. National Firearms Act (NFA).

Examples of firearms that are legal for citizens to own include .380 ACP pistols, .38 Special revolvers, 12 gauge shotguns (no short-barreled shotguns are allowed) and rifles in any caliber with exceptions such as .30 Carbine, 7mm and 7.62 mm Carbines.

Permits for the transportation and use of such non-military caliber firearms are issued for one year terms by SEDENA (Secretaría de la Defensa Nacional) and may be applied for up to 10 firearms, total, for each designated and planned use that is legally authorized. These uses may include hunting or shooting at a club or national competition. Permits are very easy to obtain, but may be only obtained by citizens belonging to a shooting club.

There is only one legally authorized retail outlet for firearms in Mexico, which is located in Mexico City: UCAM (Unidad de Comercialización de Armamento y Municiones), run by the Army. It is owned by, and is part of, the government. Although there is no legal limit on how many firearms an individual can own, UCAM will sell private buyers a single hand gun for home protection, and up to nine sporting rifles more for shooting and/or hunting. Once any individual has purchased ten firearms from UCAM, he cannot get a permit to buy any more. However, private party sales are legal and are largely uncontrolled, and wealthy gun-collecting citizens thus can legally buy more firearms from other private owners. The requirement that such firearms be federally registered is widely ignored and unenforced.

Collector permits, somewhat analogous to the FFL Category 03 Curio & Relic permits issued in the United States, are easy to obtain from the Mexican Government and allow the ownership of a wide range of firearms, even including military firearms. For those holding collector permits, regular visits by the local military authority to inspect the storage location to make sure it has the necessary security measures to avoid the guns' being stolen are a recurring fact of life.

CCW licenses are issued but are hard to obtain for anyone not wealthy and without political connections. In the event that an application is denied, the denial may theoretically be appealed at a District Court, but this never occurs in practice. Prior to 2002, CCW licenses could be obtained authorizing military caliber pistols. However, these CCW licenses were all cancelled, and re-issued to authorize only up to .380 ACP caliber pistolas. In the face of rising crime, private citizens are arming themselves despite the difficulty of obtaining a proper permit.

Transportation licenses are required for transporting guns. Transportation must be with the firearm unloaded and in a case. There are no public shooting ranges such as in the U.S. and other countries.

Gun licensing and legislation for US citizens, and citizens from other countries

Article 27 of Ley Federal de Armas de Fuego y Explosivos states the following about firearms possession by non-citizens:

Artículo 27: A los extranjeros sólo se les podrá autorizar la portación de armas cuando, además de satisfacer los requisitos señalados en el artículo anterior, acrediten su calidad de inmigrados, salvo el caso del permiso de licencia temporal para turistas con fines deportivos.

Article 27: The right to bear arms will only be authorized for foreigners when, in addition to satisfying the requirements indicated in the previous article, they accredit their status of "Inmigrados" [equivalent to permanent residents], except in the case of temporary license permits for tourists with sports-related intentions.

The US Department of State warns US citizens against taking any firearm or ammunition into Mexico without prior written authorization from the Mexican authorities. Entering Mexico with a firearm, or even a single round of ammunition, carries a penalty of up to five years in prison, even if the firearm or ammunition is taken into the country unintentionally. In practice, however, for a first offense, offenders will be fined around one-thousand dollars, their vehicles will be confiscated, and they will be deported for a period of one year.

See also

• Gun politics
• Politics of Mexico

External links

• An Inside Look at Mexican Guns and Arms Trafficking, by Barnard R. Thompson, MexiData.info (5/31/10)
• SEDENA, the Mexican Governmental body on firearms law
• Mexican Constitution of 1917 (See section 10 for right to firearms.)