Gun Trafficking Along the U.S.-Mexico Border. A Social Phenomenon or Moral Panic?

• In Event: International and Transnational Crime and Justice

Abstract

This research analyzed how The New York Times and El Universal portrayed the phenomenon of gun trafficking into Mexico from January 2009 through January 2012. Content analysis was utilized to analyze a sample of 602 newspaper articles. Drawing on a theoretical framework of framing, this study addressed how the social phenomenon of gun trafficking along the U.S.-Mexico border has been portrayed by the mass media. This study discovered several framing devices, “the blame game,” “worthy and unworthy victims,” “positive and negative aspects of gun trafficking,” and “ direct and indirect mentioning of gun trafficking.” The New York Times and El Universal used these framing devices to discuss the issue of gun trafficking into Mexico and its impact on drug related violence. This study found that gun trafficking along the U.S.-Mexico border met Adler and Adler’s three stages of a moral panic: 1) awareness; 2) moral conversion; and 3) moral panic. These framing devices resulted in gun trafficking fitting the requirements of a moral panic, which occurred when the media focused on the violence that emanated from availability of firearms, the number of firearms traced back to the United States, and the politicians who called for the tougher gun control.

Author

• Omar Camarillo, Eastern New Mexico University