Imagine waking up to the sound of AK-47s in the morning and going to bed to the cries of grieving families at night. Imagine a place where children cannot play outside for fear of being caught in the crossfire or gunned down at a birthday party.
In too many communities across Mexico, such violence has become a frightening reality of daily life. Over the past four years, roughly 40,000 people have been killed in Mexico’s “drug war.” And many of the guns that fuel this violence were smuggled over the border from the U.S. into Mexico.
Click here to tell President Obama to Stop Gun Smuggling into Mexico
People across Mexico are fed up with the ongoing bloodshed in their country and are mobilizing at home to end the violence. Civil society groups in Mexico have initiated a petition to urge President Obama–and all Americans– to be a part of the solution for a more peaceful Mexico. We’ve got their back; we’ve joined their call; and, along with thousands of others in Mexico, we’re asking President Obama to:
• Enforce the existing ban on the importation of assault weapons (because many of them are later illegally smuggled into Mexico);
• Require gun dealers to report to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) the sale of multiple assault rifles; (GOOD NEWS: Just yesterday, the Obama Administration announced new reporting rules on multiple semiautomatic rifles in border states. A great first step – let’s keep the momentum going!)
• Strengthen the ATF in regions of the U.S. that supply the bulk of the weapons smuggled into Mexico.
Join thousands from Mexico, the U.S. and around the world in telling President Obama to Stop Gun Smuggling to Mexico. Click here to sign the petition now!
Last month, a congressional report noted that 70% of the weapons seized in Mexico in 2009 and 2010 and submitted for tracing came through the United States. If you think this number is too high, and want to do something about it, sign the petition now!
We all have a right to life, a right to safety, a right to freedom from fear. Let’s work together to make this right a reality on both sides of the border.
Thank you for speaking out against gun smuggling today!
