Durbin, Castro Introduce Bill To Curb Firearms Trafficking From The United States To Mexican Drug Cartels
The Stop Arming Cartels Act would stem the "iron river" of firearms trafficking enabled by weak American gun laws
WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and U.S. Representative Joaquin Castro (D-TX-20), Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, led the bicameral introduction of the Stop Arming Cartels Act. The legislation is introduced as an estimated 200,000 to 500,000 American-made guns are trafficked into Mexico annually, largely attributable to unlicensed gun dealers, straw purchasers, and thefts from federal firearms licensees (FFLs).
The bill would seek to stem this “iron river” of firearms trafficking from the United States to Mexico, enabled by weak American gun laws and dangerous gun industry practices. The deadly stream of firearms trafficking exacerbates violence, enables cartels who smuggle migrants to our southern border, and facilitates the illicit trade of narcotics, including fentanyl, across the border back into the United States. According to a 2021 study from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), 70 percent of crime guns recovered in Mexico from 2014-2018 and submitted for tracing were U.S.-sourced.
“Our country’s lax gun laws have created a deadly, vicious cycle of firearms trafficking that’s riddled with violence and chaos, resulting in a consistent transfer of fentanyl across our border. Our gun laws and gun industry practices fuel an iron river of firearms trafficking that supplies Mexican drug cartels and other criminal elements in the region, and it’s time to cut off the iron river at its source. With the Stop Arming Cartels Act, we can disarm cartels and help prevent the violence, drug trafficking, and irregular migration associated with cartel power and violence at home and abroad,” said Durbin.
“For years, Republicans have taken an increasingly brutal approach to immigration while refusing to address the role that U.S. guns play in fueling the violence and instability that force families to flee from their homes. When I meet with leaders in Latin America and the Caribbean, their number one request is for the United States to stop the gun trafficking that originates within our borders. In Mexico, in particular, high-caliber weapons smuggled from the United States have allowed cartels to shoot down police helicopters, attack military convoys, and undercut public faith in law and order. The Stop Arming Cartels Act will make important progress to stem the deadly flow of guns from the United States and build stability across the globe. I appreciate Senator Durbin’s leadership on this issue in the Senate, and I hope that our Republican colleagues will join us as we work to pass this lifesaving bill into law,” said Castro.
Specifically, the Stop Arming Cartels Act would:
- Prohibit future nongovernmental manufacture, importation, sale, transfer, or possession of .50 caliber rifles;
- Regulate existing .50 caliber rifles under the National Firearms Act, with a fee waiver and 12-month grace period for registration on the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record for those who lawfully possess them under current law;
- Create an exception to the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA), allowing victims of gun violence to sue manufacturers and dealers who engage in firearm transactions prohibited under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act (the “Kingpin Act”);
- Prohibit the sale or transfer of firearms to individuals sanctioned under the Kingpin Act and add Kingpin Act designations to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS); and
- Require firearms dealers to report multiple sales of rifles to state and local law enforcement agencies, as they must currently do for handguns.
The bill is co-sponsored by U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Jack Reed (D-RI), and Ron Wyden (D-OR).
The bill is endorsed by Brady United Against Gun Violence, Everytown for Gun Safety, GIFFORDS, March for Our Lives, Global Exchange, Global Action on Gun Violence, Amnesty International, and People’s Movement for Peace and Justice.
The introduction of the Stop Arming Cartels Act continues Durbin’s efforts to strengthen American gun laws and combat firearms trafficking from the United States abroad. In June 2022, the Senate passed and President Biden signed into law the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, the most significant gun violence prevention reform in nearly three decades. Among its many provisions, the law creates federal firearm straw purchasing and trafficking criminal offenses.
In March 2022, the Senate passed the government funding bill that reauthorized the Violence Against Women Act, including provisions from the NICS Denial Notification Act. These provisions require federal law enforcement to promptly notify state law enforcement within hours when a person fails a gun background check.
In 2019, Durbin urged the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to update its reports on efforts to combat firearms trafficking from the United States to Mexico, Belize, and Guatemala and expand the report to include El Salvador and Honduras. The report revealed that 40 percent of firearms recovered in those countries and submitted for tracing from 2015-2019 came from the United States. Based on the immense value of that report, Durbinjoined colleagues in 2023 to successfully press GAO to expand the study further to include the Caribbean.
Bill text is available here. A one-page summary of the bill is available here.
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