March 5, 2009 10:54AM # Good Coverage of AG Holder’s War on Guns By [David Rittgers](https://www.cato.org/people/david-rittgers) --- SHARE As I [said](https://www.cato.org/2009/03/03/holders-assault-weapons-folly/) earlier this week, Eric Holder’s [push](http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Story?id=6960824&page=1) for an “assault weapons” ban is a misguided policy that will not have any serious impact on Mexican drug cartels. It really ought to be called a “[ban on semi-automatic firearms with politically incorrect cosmetic features](https://www.cato.org/dailypodcast/podcast-archive.php?podcast_id=847),” but that doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue. I am pleased to see that CNN is providing [coverage](http://www.cnn.com/video/?/video/bestoftv/2009/02/26/ldt.tucker.second.amend.cnn) of this that notes (1) the difference between semi-automatic sporting arms and machine guns and (2) that Mexican authorities are not releasing the serial numbers of firearms seized from the gangsters. This is probably because many of these guns are coming from the Mexican government, not American gun stores. The drug cartels are putting up [billboards](http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2008-04-24-mexicocartels_N.htm) to recruit soldiers and policemen as hired muscle. Don’t be surprised when they walk off the job with the guns you issued them, and don’t shift the blame to the Second Amendment. ##### Related Tags [Constitutional Law](https://www.cato.org/constitutional-law), [Robert A. Levy Center for Constitutional Studies](https://www.cato.org/robert-levy-center-constitutional-studies) [![Creative Commons License](/build/cato_2020/images/creative-commons.svg)](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) This work is licensed under a [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/).