I'll start by saying I haven't paid a lot of attention to this stuff.  I haven't paid a lot of attention because I know a lot about it and I have no respect for any journalist to 'get it right' regarding the facts and reality of nearly anything about which they write.

Still, I'll give it a shot.

Mexico was going to pass a law allowing each family to own a small firearm some years ago.  I do not know if they actually did pass the law.

So, historically, in Mexico (excluding shotguns and registered high-power rifle hunting weapons) no Mexican could actually own a firearm.

What to do?

Well, if you had a Mexican cop in the family, you could get a firearm (pistol or rifle) through that connection.  Prices were generally reasonable which was a surprise to me.

Now, I never met a cop (federal, state, municiple) who would actually sell you an automatic rifle.

Once you had your weapon, you needed only one thing else.

Ammo.

That was harder to get and quite expensive.

Now, it is true that the old WWII and Korean hand grenades exist in Mexico.  I'm not sure exactly how they got there, but I'm inclined to believe that the Mexican government bought these items from the US through an Arms Dealer.  Perfectly legal.

I'm also sure that Mexico has bought many M-16's, mortors, M-60's, M-14's and more modern grenades on the open Arms market.  It is a government, after all, and has a standing army.

But I am doubly sure that the weapons showing up in Mexico came from Mexican sources as far as the American made stuff is concerned.

The Chinese stuff, AK's, etc., are smuggled into Mexico by the usual suspects through the usual routes - air, land and sea.  Of course the corrupt enforcement officials at the Ports do not help.

I never met anyone in the Mexican Army who was supportive of this type of smuggling or supportive of letting anyone, drug lord or not, have automatic weapons.

But, it is a corrupt country.

ACA

...

Quoted from: 'Acaiguana notes from the Underground' (Soon to be at theaters near you)

Well, now I know where I'm going when I need drugs, arms and tequila. That's right Anderson Coopers house!

You dont see too many M2s or 203s in the gunstores around home.

Its always important to remember who controlled the sale all these military grade firearms (and tanks, helicopters, jet aircraft, etc...) to a myriad of 3rd world countries across the globe--our government.  But instead of stating the truth about the origin of these militarized weapons, they blame bubba.

I went to a gun show Saturday (yes Mike, I live in Texas;) and, no matter where I looked I just couldn't find any machine guns, grenades or automatic weapons. In fact, as all us bubbas know, there is a nationwide shortage of ammunition in all calibers.

The lies just keep coming.

"If everyone is thinking alike, someone isn't thinking." - General George Patton Jr

In some ways it is really sad to see almost all of the "news" organizations to be nothing more than liberal advocacy groups.  It's not new, it just a bit disappointing that they are now so open and unapologetic in their "news" reports (read "advocacy presentations").   Of course it does make some sense if you ever looked at who the journalism majors are: the students who think they are smarter than everyone else but also too important to learn a real discipline.

Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing ever happened.

Sir Winston Churchill

www.btreasures.com

peoples republic of maryland. class 3 weapons are uber expensive as in thousands of dollars.you can by an m-16  look alike (ar-15) for maybe 600-900 dollars. and to look at it the uninitiated and even some arm chair commandos would have a hard time telling it from a m-4,m-16. i think most people just want the shock value of the appearance of a military weapon.many of the cartridges  are no more deadly than commonly available hunting rounds.likewise with an ak-47. also a fingerprint card and a U.S. government background check are in order. and if thats not enough a transfer tax of last i heard 200 dollars.and, the atf can show up at your house at anytime and demand you produce the weapon in question. here's one i never understood ...you can legally own a silencer. so yes they are available, expensive to own legally.same conditions as the other class 3 weapons above. grenades, and launchers forget about it.these are covered under either the national firearms act of 1934 and or 1968.classified as destructive devices. you'll do serious time if caught possesing  one of those. check out youtube for some hilarious videos of small framed women shooting way too big guns. also, way too drunk citizens shooting well, you get the idea...me myself i own an fn/fal . google it. firearm of the free world. cool thing was before 1934 you could walk into a gunshop an/or hardware store and buy a tommy gun.clearly these guys are goin third world (and second world) for there weapons needs. ak-47's from africa going for less than 300 dollars. real ak full auto.and while i've got your attention the much lamented passing of the assault weapons ban. get this, banned bayonet mounts....haven't heard of any good bayonettings lately in the news..