Just wondering if guns are legal for the commoner to own in Mexico, or if all the shooting over there is done by what amounts to be illegal guns?

Well, other than the Fast and Furious guns anyway.

According to my Bro-In-Law (born & raised in Mexico...U.S. citizen for 40 Years)

YES...

Hopefully, someone with further information will respond.

My Bro-In-Law said although you can own a firearm there has to be good reason (usually not just sport). There is a long wait and extensive investigation into the person and the need for a gun. He has never seen a gun store in Mexico or a shooting range, so he does not know how you would go about buying a gun there.
So, it appears the law supports gun ownership on the surface, but as a practical matter, the right doesn't exist.

BEJ, That's the same thing I heard when I was in Mexico the last time.

quote:

Just wondering if guns are legal for the commoner to own in Mexico, or if all the shooting over there is done by what amounts to be illegal guns?

From what I understand - approximately 40yrs ago - that the economically advantaged are able to obtain the necessary government permits to own firearms while it is virtually impossible for the economically disadvantaged to obtain the necessary government permits to own firearms. And at that time the newly evolved middle-class was being economically decimated moved most if not all into the economically disadvantaged category.

The guns used by the criminal organizations and individuals for the vast majority of the shootings in Mexico have been obtained as follows - purchased on the black market, stolen by the military personal and police officers who desert their posts and join the criminal organizations, or are stolen from Mexican government (military and police) stores by the various smuggling organizations… So in answer to this aspect of your question virtually 100% of the firearms used in the shootings in Mexico are illegally owned/possessed firearms.

I understand that gun rights organizations that have dug through the NCIC matches relating to F&F – and then excluding the F&F’ firearms trafficked by F&F by the ATF, DEA, and FBI to these same Mexican criminal organizations – have identified a very low number of firearms that were lawfully purchased from gun stores within the United States and later used in criminal activity within Mexico. And all had been purchased at very sporadic timeframes from 10+ years ago going as far back as 40+ years ago. Unfortunately it appears the government has made zero attempt to identify if any of this same number of firearms had been reported as stolen from a US residence or if the government has a record of the individual firearm being exported by the owner to Mexico.

At least that's what I understand...

quote:

Originally posted by BEJ:
My Bro-In-Law said although you can own a firearm there has to be good reason (usually not just sport). There is a long wait and extensive investigation into the person and the need for a gun. He has never seen a gun store in Mexico or a shooting range, so he does not know how you would go about buying a gun there.
So, it appears the law supports gun ownership on the surface, but as a practical matter, the right doesn't exist.

Private citizens ARE allowed to own guns in mexico (I am a mexican citizen and live there)

That being said, there are many restrictions, amongst them no pistols over .380 caliber or 38 special for civilians, also some particular guns like ak-47s and ar-15s are restricted, also 30 caliber carbines. .357 mag pistols are also prohibited.

In order to legaly buy a gun, you submit paperwork to the army (they run the only store in the country, it is in mexico city) and they must authorize or say no within 120 days, usually if everything is ok, they will authorize up to 1 pistol, 3 rifles, 3 shotguns (up to 3 firearms per buying permit) You are allowed to have up to 10 different weapons in any conbination.

Shotting ranges while not common, also exsist around the country.

The right to own weapons is written into our laws, however for all practical maters, the army does and changes whatever they want. Also concealed carry permits are very difficult to get however they are not imposible.

If anyone has any more questions, I would be very glad to answer them.

Thank you for the current information.
I have a couple of additional questions.
Owning a firearm is one aspect, having ammunition available for purchase, is a second.
Since the army operates the "only store in the country", do they also have control over ammunition sales ? How about reloading (importing powder, primers, heads, cases, etc).
There is one border town, where I used to cross into Mexico, with a sign, in English, saying if you were found with ONE round of ammunition you were subject to arrest.

quote:

Originally posted by BEJ:
Thank you for the current information.
I have a couple of additional questions.
Owning a firearm is one aspect, having ammunition available for purchase, is a second.
Since the army operates the "only store in the country", do they also have control over ammunition sales ? How about reloading (importing powder, primers, heads, cases, etc).
There is one border town, where I used to cross into Mexico, with a sign, in English, saying if you were found with ONE round of ammunition you were subject to arrest.

The army operates the only store in the country that sells firearms, however there are a few stores in every major city and some minor cities that sell amunition, ammo is expensive, however for the more common calibers and gauges its easy to get. (strange calibers and sometimes very popular ones are hard to come by) The store will sell you up to 200 bullets per firearm you have per month, or 1000 shells a month per shotgun.... again there are ways to get more.

Also an interesting quirk, is that while it is illegal to import amunition without an import permit (hard to get and expensive) it is completely legal to posses and sell the same once you are in the country.

There is no source of reloading components, however they are legal to posses and sell.

The sign you saw , and that I am familiar with at the border says that if you are caught coming into the country with 1 bullet you can go to jail, refers to the fact that if you come accross the border with one bullet and dont declare it, you are technically "smugling" amunition.

Patricio