This is why Mexico needs civilian owned firearms.

[Tatsumi67]

If this is "off topic" I apologize but I saw this and immediately thought of TFL being a good place to discuss it.

According to NPR, a border town in Mexico has been virtually abandoned due to the cartels fighting, killing, rampaging in the town. The Mexican military has been unable to provide security (gee I wonder why?) and now there is no local police force and less than 500 residents left. Corpses hung in streets, limbs chopped off, things that should not happen in a developed country.

And I can't help but think that this would never happen in America because the civilians would just defend themselves, maybe even fight back (vigilantism?) if a rouge criminal element ruined their quality of life to such extent. But no, the Mexican government is hellbend on keeping firearms away from civilians.

It's just one of those things that makes me glad to be an American.
Link

[Tom Servo]

Actually, a significant percentage of Mexican households have firearms, in spite of the laws.

It's really a different climate down there. The authorities have a record of apathy, incompetence, and corruption. There is very little enforcement of the law on a day-to-day basis, and many homeowners I saw flaunt it with little fear of confiscation or prosecution.

And I can't help but think that this would never happen in America because the civilians would just defend themselves, maybe even fight back (vigilantism?) if a rouge criminal element ruined their quality of life to such extent.

Apples and oranges. In places like Juarez, the homeowner with a shotgun stands little chance in the face of cartel members armed with machine guns. They've been trained, they outnumber you, and even if you could repel them in the short term, there would be organized reprisal.

The police may even fear them, or they may have an arrangement that involves them turning a blind eye.

Mexico is a different world.

[geetarman]

"Mexico is a different world"

That pretty much says it all.

Geetarman

[4runnerman]

"Mexico is a different world"

I second that for sure. The law is more corrupt than the criminals

[carguychris]

It's really a different climate down there. The authorities have a record of apathy, incompetence, and corruption.

I would also like to add that based on my experience in Mexico, Tom has the three in the correct order, from most prevalent to least prevalent.

Much is made of Mexican corruption north of the border, but the reality is that many Mexicans simply do not care what the law says, including LEOs, and this attitude extends to many mundane aspects of daily life such as driving a car or running a business, not just owning firearms. Things are done a certain way and that's just the way things are done. One simply accepts it.

Ironically, one of the things that Mexican immigrants have told me that they like about the USA is that people follow the law here. If there is something wrong in society and it is outlawed, most average citizens will respect the law without being asked, and most LEOs will act against anyone who disregards it. The same is not true in Mexico. On that same note, unfair or unpopular laws in the USA get changed; unfair or unpopular laws in Mexico remain on the books and are simply disregarded.

Different world indeed.

[maestro pistolero]

The cartels will continue to operate with impunity until every other house in every neighborhood has a shotgun sticking out their window waiting for them
when they arrive.

[Glenn E. Meyer]

I don't see this as an L and CR issue. More a discussion of the Mexican political and social climate.

Thus, I'm closing it. No offense.

GEM