[15155]

This is a popular idea amongst American liberals who rejoice at any possible means to eliminate/curb/add friction to lawful firearms ownership and manufacturing.

Where are they buying firearms in America at an "industrial scale?" An AR-15 receiver can be turned out in tens of minutes on a fast VMC - good luck stopping this.

[estearum]

What’s the relevance of who “this is a popular idea” to? It’s either a good idea or it’s not.

If it’s so easy, then why aren’t they doing that today and instead we just encounter thousands of guns bought in the US? Must be because that’s easier, correct?

I get the sense you’re a bit pre-committed to your position here though and perceive this as a bit of an identity question.

[consumer451]

https://www.atf.gov/firearms/report/firearms-trace-data/fire...

https://www.atf.gov/firearms/docs/report/nfcta-volume-ii-par...

https://www.atf.gov/firearms/report/firearms-trace-data/fire...

https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-21-322

https://www.gao.gov/video/weapons-recovered-arms-trafficking...

[15155]

Yep, just keep spamming these links. I'll keep milling, good luck with your agenda.

[consumer451]

Yes, showing the preponderance of evidence against your easily disproven argument is actually "my agenda." Great job on calling that out.

I grew up hunting. Like any other redneck, I fired a .308 at 13yrs old, and yes it knocked me to the ground, lol. Skinned a dear that same year. I just didn't choose to make guns my entire identity.

All I am stating is the obvious. The USA is a major firearms manufacturer and exporter.

[15155]

It's not "disproven" - when an organization can buy a $30k machine and crank out high-quality firearms all day long, you can't do anything to stop it.

[estearum]

So why aren’t they doing that today? Pretty simple empirical question.

The answer is that it is in fact easier to just buy them in the US.

[mothballed]

I think it's still a relevant point. The point isn't necessarily that it's easier for cartels to make it themselves than to smuggle guns or divert them from military sources. It's that the cartels can easily replace smuggled guns with manufactured guns and their demand for them is inelastic enough at either price point it's unlikely to effect the access to cartels.

The more likely effect is it disproportionately stops normal Mexico citizens from obtaining "illegal" guns to protect themselves but the cartels still have them, making things even worse for the Mexican people.

[15155]

How do you know "empirically" that they aren't? Who says that the US-sourced guns that they are tracing are even a substantial fraction of the overall guns in use? How can you prove empirically that the data provided by the notoriously-reliable and agenda-less Mexican government is accurate?

Mexico, 10 years ago: https://www.vice.com/en/article/the-cartel-gunsmiths/

Philippines, 13 years ago: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67PYuGQM9Fg

[consumer451]

All you have done is shown that you have no idea how difficult and time consuming machining is, vs. mass production.

[15155]

I know for a fact that mass methamphetamine and fentanyl synthesis is more technically-difficult, more time consuming, and more capital-intensive than mass-manufacture of firearms - but good luck pushing your "Iron River" narrative lmao.