Firearms regulation in Mexico
Firearms regulation in Mexico is governed by legislation which sets the legality by which members of the armed forces, law enforcement and private citizens may acquire, own, possess and carry firearms; covering rights and limitations to individuals—including hunting and shooting sport participants, property and personal protection personnel such as bodyguards, security officers, private security, and extending to VIPs (diplomats, public officials, celebrities).After Anastasio Bustamante took office in January 1830, considering the instability of the previous year, a mandate was issued that required all in unlawful possession of firearms to surrender them to the government and made it illegal to pawn or purchase them.At the height of the Mexican Revolution, the Constitution of 1917 was enacted and Article 10, carried over from the previous constitution, was modified to define three separate things: one) it recognized the right of the people to keep and bear arms, two) it excepted from civilian possession weapons prohibited by law or reserved for the military, and three) it required that weapons carried in public be done in accordance to the law.The 1960s were marked by a series of anti-government movements that escalated to the Tlatelolco massacre, prompting then-President Echeverría and Mexican Congress to modify Article 10 of the Constitution to its present form today, which permits private ownership of firearms within the home only.Additionally, carrying firearms outside the home (in public) was no longer a right but a privilege federal law would regulate and authorize on a case-by-case basis.With this reform came the Federal Law of Firearms and Explosives, which limited civilians' legal access to a few small-caliber guns while reserving most types and calibers to the government (i.e., police and military).While federal law does not set a limit, in legal practice, citizens are only allowed to keep a total of 10 registered firearms (nine long guns, one handgun) per household.Beyond military and law enforcement members, these permits are only issued to persons who qualify such as those employed in private security firms, those who live in rural areas, or those who may be targets of crime (politicians, public officials, and wealthy citizens).Anything bigger than those calibers is considered for exclusive use of the military and strictly forbidden for civilian possession, as defined by Article 11 of the Federal Law of Firearms and Explosives.However, the Secretariat of National Defense (SEDENA) has set its own rules (in Spanish: Disposiciones giradas por la propia Secretaría), and while neither federal firearms law nor its regulation set a limit on the amount of firearms a person may own, SEDENA has determined that only nine long guns and one handgun for hunting or shooting activities will be authorized.Those who belong to hunting and/or shooting clubs and keep registered firearms for those purposes must maintain a valid permit (renewable every year) to remove the weapons from their home to the location of relevant activities.[29] Private citizens wishing to acquire a firearm and ammunition are required by law to do the following:[41] Mexico has a history of various activities and insurrection by militia and paramilitary groups dating back several hundred years that include the exploits of historical figures such as Captain Manuel Pineda Munoz and Francisco "Pancho" Villa.[43] However some of the previous examples are historical, the current official view on the existence of such militias in Mexico, when are not backed by the government,[44] has been always label them as illegal and to combat them in a military and a political way.
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