(TX-Mex) Border a hot spot for illegal gun purchases, officials say

[rainbow4321]

http://www.mysanantonio.com/sharedcontent/APStories/stories/D88CQ7VO0.html

Weapons smugglers, drug dealers and illegal immigrants are taking advantage of Texas laws by using middlemen to illegally purchase guns, federal officials say.

Because Texas does not require any state registration to purchase a firearm, it is relatively easy for someone to buy a gun for a person who's forbidden to own one. That kind of deal is known as a "straw purchase."

Franceska Perot, a spokeswoman for the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said that although exact data on such purchases is not available, strict Mexican gun laws have created an active black market for American weapons.

<snip>

The suspect, Luciano Varela, told authorities he was shopping in the store in June when a stranger approached him and asked him to buy him a handgun. He told Varela he would pay for the gun and give him $30 for his trouble. Over the next few days, Varela and his wife also bought the man another handgun, a rifle and two semiautomatic assault rifles at gun shops in Brownsville, Pharr and Harlingen, according to court records.

[alwynsw]

1. Varela is getting what he deserves.

It's good to see the existing laws enforced.

I really don't see the need for additional registration. The laws in place are already over-restrictive of individual RKBA.