Today President Obama called on the U.S. Congress to enact legislation to require background checks on all gun sales, reinstate the ban on assault weapons, enact a ban on high capacity magazines, and strengthen gun trafficking laws. All of these measures would help to stem gun violence in the United States; they would also impact the illegal flow of weapons into Mexico. The same military style assault weapons that have been used in massacres here in the United States are being bought in this country and illegally trafficked across the border into the hands of vicious drug lords. Passing the legislative proposals supported by President Obama would help to address gun violence on both sides of the border. We urge Congress to act swiftly to pass these proposals.