The drug wars among Mexican cartels have claimed more than 31,000 lives since late 2006. Many of those killed are innocent civilians who are in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Though there are stringent laws in Mexico restricting gun ownership, illegal firearms from the U.S. flow into Mexico, perpetrating the violence. U.S. firearms agents estimate that 80 to 90 percent of the weapons used by Mexican drug traffickers come from the United States. Most of these guns are obtained through cartel leaders who hire Americans with clean records--"gunrunners"--to purchase the weapons for them.

Bill Carter owns two of the top 12 U.S. gun dealing stores traced to Mexico in the past two years. He has been in lawsuits for years about his business practices, and it's clear that he doesn't take gunrunning seriously. He recently said: "Why all the talk about guns going south when so many drugs are coming north that our cows along the interstate are gettin' high off the fumes!"

Tell Bill Carter to play his part in preventing guns from getting into the wrong hands. If he takes the distribution of firearms in his stores more seriously, he can help prevent the murder of hundreds of people in Mexico.

Photo Credit: Svadilfari