CU Amnesty International is hosting a panel on November 21st on the effect of American guns on human rights violations in Mexico and Central America. American guns are used in 70 % of all gun crimes in Mexico. An American gun is more likely to be used in a homicide in Mexico than in the US. But how did we get here?
How do American guns end up in Mexico and Central America? What are some solutions to this issue, both policy and other wise? And how do gun exports influence migration to the United States?
Our panelists are:
Mark Ungar, a professor of political science at Brooklyn College and the Graduate Center, and of the CUNY Criminal Justice Doctoral Program. He has written and edited four books and about 30 articles and book chapters on judicial reform, citizen security and policing. He is an adviser to the United Nations, the Inter-American Development Bank, and the governments of Argentina, Bolivia, Honduras and Mexico. In 2011, he was elected to the Inter-American Institute of Human Rights, the investigative body of the inter-American legal system. He has received grants and fellowships from the Ford Foundation, the Tinker Foundation and the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C.
Alex Yablon has reported for The Trace on a range of gun issues, including cross-border smuggling, legal overseas sales, export policy, and the effect poorly controlled American guns have in Mexico and Central America. His March 2019 story on the Trump administration's push to loosen restrictions on foreign gun sales was nominated for the Forum on the Arms Trade's Exemplary Media poll. He has also covered domestic firearm politics and policy, gun crime, mass shootings, and the gun industry.
David Pucino joined Giffords Law Center as a staff attorney in May 2018. As part of Giffords Law Center’s litigation team, David pursues affirmative litigation and defends laws that enhance firearm safety. He drafts and analyzes legislation to promote federal, state, and local policies designed to prevent gun violence. David also helps manage the Firearms Accountability Counsel Taskforce (FACT), a joint effort by Giffords Law Center, the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, and the Brennan Center for Justice, working with the nation’s preeminent law firms to reduce gun violence. Before joining Giffords Law Center, David was a litigation associate at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP. David holds a BA from Providence College, an AM in English and American Literature from Washington University in St. Louis, and a JD from Columbia Law School.
