Mexico's Gun Buyback Program Has Been Flooded with Homemade Firearms Jeremy Bender - Business Insider
go to original April 15, 2015

A pile of homemade guns (The Fire Arm Blog)

A gun buyback program in place in Mexico has resulted in civilians turning over some strange weapons to the authorities.

According to The Fire Arm Blog, a recent guns-for-cash-and-food trade-in program saw a number of citizens turning in homemade firearms of varying quality.

Mexico’s firearm buyback program has been expanding throughout the country since at least 2013 in an attempt to reduce violent crime in the country and pull weapons off the streets.

The majority of guns in Mexico are acquired illegally, NPR reports, and exchange programs allow a way for people to turn in weapons without fear of arrest or prosecution. But the original intent of the program may have been lost as entrepreneurs use the buybacks as a way to make money.

Although the majority of the homemade weapons which were turned in were not of high quality, the prevalence of personally crafted firearms highlights how easily guns can be made, even if they’re of wildly varying quality. For example, the Jalisco New Generation Drug Cartel, Mexico’s fastest-growing drug-trafficking organisation, has manufactured their own AR-15 assault rifles.

Read the rest and see photos at Business Insider

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