Mexico City.- The federal Executive sent to the Chamber of Deputies an initiative that expands the catalog of weapons for exclusive use by the Army, tightens its control and allows the carrying of weapons by members of public companies and autonomous bodies, as well as by ejidatarios, communeros and day laborers.
The presidential initiative, which is being presented 12 days before the end of the current six-year term, modifies various provisions of the Federal Law on Firearms and Explosives, with the aim of “reducing the incidence of homicides” and eradicating illicit arms trafficking.
The proposal allows the carrying of firearms by organizations that justify their need for it due to their public functions, as long as they comply with the conditions and requirements established by law. “In Mexico, the security of strategic areas and public safety are a priority. Therefore, this bill proposes that members of public companies, parastatal companies, autonomous bodies (among others CFE, Pemex, Banxico, Casa de Moneda, CNI, SAT) and individuals and corporations (private security companies) may carry firearms for the development of security functions issued by Sedena, as long as they comply with the required requirements,” it states.
It also allows the possession of firearms authorized by the Sedena to ejidatarios, communeros and farm workers, both in their homes and outside urban areas, if they can reliably prove their status as such.
“Ejidatarios, communeros and rural day laborers may possess in their home and carry outside urban areas, with sole declaration, a 22″ caliber rifle or a shotgun of any caliber, except those with a barrel length less than 635 mm (25″) and those with a caliber greater than 12 (.729″ or 18.5 mm),” it states.
Authorizes possession of firearms by natural persons
The reform also authorizes the possession of firearms in the homes of individuals for their security and legitimate defense, when the limitations established by law are complied with.
In contrast, it expands the catalog of weapons for the exclusive use of the Army, strengthens gun control and tightens the requirements for their possession, as well as the penalties for those who break the law. It includes as weapons for the exclusive use of the Army 5.7 x 28 mm, .357, 9 mm, parabellum, .38 caliber pistols and those of higher caliber, as well as rifles, muskets, carbines and blunderbusses of different calibers, submachine guns and machine guns in all their calibers, rocket projectiles, torpedoes, grenades, bombs, mines, grenade launchers, rifles, silencers, night vision equipment, laser designators and holographic and thermal sights. It indicates that the possession of firearms must be registered in the Federal Weapons Registry in charge of the Sedena, an agency that will have the power to issue, deny, suspend and cancel licenses for carrying them, as well as their registration, control and surveillance. “Due to the reform of the Organic Law of the Federal Public Administration (), some functions of the Ministry of the Interior were transferred to the Ministry of Security and Citizen Protection; however, since 2009, the official private license, which was a power of the Ministry of the Interior, has not been issued. Therefore, it is necessary that the application of the Federal Law on Firearms and Explosives be the exclusive power of the President of the Republic and the Sedena,” he states.
Hunting permits would also be reformed
The text adds that the Sedena must authorize shooting or hunting athletes registered in duly accredited clubs or associations to possess firearms in their homes, as well as to transport and carry them within the shooting range or hunting grounds.
These clubs and associations, it adds, must be registered with the Secretariats of National Defense and Security and Citizen Protection for the control and surveillance of the weapons possessed by their members and may authorize them to register and use open shooting ranges or covered or underground shooting stands. The proposal prohibits persons outside the Armed Forces from possessing, carrying and using weapons, ammunition, materials, accessories, devices or armored vehicles, as well as private vehicles modified with any type of armor and adapted for the use of weapons. It also establishes that in the event of the death of the holder of a permit to carry firearms or in a declared absence, a person must be appointed to assume responsibility for carrying out, within a period of 30 days, the corresponding procedures for the final destination of the firearms. In addition, it toughens penalties for those who do not comply with the regulations, which range from fines of between 10 and two thousand times the daily value of the Unit of Measurement and Update to between 3 and 30 years in prison.
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