Michael Chapman, editor of CNS News, posted one heck of a whopper this morning about the number of American guns turning up at Mexican crime scenes:

A new federal report reveals that 70% of the firearms seized by Mexican authorities between 2009 and 2014 originated in the United States. In addition, the report shows that the majority of those U.S.-originated guns were bought in California, Arizona, and Texas, southwest states that border Mexico.

The report from the General Accountability Office (GAO) was issued on Jan. 16 and is entitled, Firearms Trafficking: U.S. Efforts to Combat Firearms Trafficking to Mexico Have Improved, But Some Collaboration Challenges Remain.

Between 2009 and 2014, the federal bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) confirmed that Mexican authorities seized 104,850 firearms.  Using a sophisticated tracing program, called eTrace, the ATF determined that 73,684 of those weapons, or 70%, originated in the United States.

But that’s not actually what the GAO report says, and Chapman missed this all-important detail.

NOTE: These figures reflect firearms seized by Mexican authorities and traced by ATF, not all firearms seized in Mexico.

Mexico only asks for an ATF eTrace if markings on the weapon suggest it was either made in or imported through the United States.

In reality less than 8-percent of guns recovered in Mexico come from U.S. gun shops.

CNS News owes it’s readers a retraction for poor reporting, and the GAO owes the public an apology for a poorly written report that could be misconstrued in such a manner.