The Tom Diaz-Eric Holder '90%' Two-Step

And no, for you smart-asses out there (you know who you are), a "'90%' Two-Step" is not a "1.8-Step."

Yesterday, I discussed the VPC's Tom Diaz--who is now finding himself forced to retreat from the demonstrably false (but endlessly repeated) claim that "90% of the Mexican drug cartels' weapons come from the U.S. civilian market." He, in fact called the entire issue a "red herring.

But Tom Diaz, senior policy analyst at the Violence Policy Center, called the "90 percent" issue a red herring and said that it should not detract from the effort to stop gun trafficking into Mexico.

I pointed out that he had said nothing of "red herrings" in spreading that disinformation in a VPC report (pdf) file, and in testimony to Congress (pdf file), and nor did fellow VPC shill Kirsten Rand, in her testimony to Congress (pdf file). War on Guns and Days of Our Trailers have more.

Basically, he's saying, "OK--the '90%' thing was a lie, but take our word for it that too many American guns are being smuggled to Mexico, so freedom in the U.S. has to be curtailed."

Now AG Eric Holder has joined in, saying essentially the same thing.

Some question that figure, since not all seized weapons are traced, but when asked whether the figure is a myth, Mr. Holder replied that, regardless of the actual statistic, the vast majority of weapons, particularly the high-powered ones, are coming from the US and are aggravating the Mexican government’s efforts.

Never mind the numbers (now that you've caught us lying about them)--they're still too high!

By the way, at the same news conference, according to the Washington Post, Holder claimed that the U.S. is not seeking to implement more restrictive gun legislation (despite Holder, most of the rest of the Obama administration, the White House itself, etc., being reliable advocates for just that).

Holder agreed that the "vast majority" of weapons used by the cartels come from north of the border. "This is a reality we have to face in the United States," Holder said, adding that the United States is not seeking to change any of its gun laws to slow weapons smuggling.

"I don't think our Second Amendment will stand in the way of what we have begun," Holder said.

The thing is, when Holder says that he doesn't think that the "Second Amendment will stand in the way . . . " it doesn't necessarily mean he's ruling out draconian gun laws. He signed an amicus brief taking the position that the Second Amendment wouldn't "stand in the way" of D.C.'s complete ban of handguns. He, in fact, even after the Heller decision, has expressed the belief that the Second Amendment will pose no obstacle to banning "cop killer" bullets (whatever those are), closing the mythical "gun show loophole," and banning so-called "assault weapons."

Why should we believe anything he and his ideological allies say?