Editor's note: Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, the former lieutenant governor of Maryland and daughter of late U.S. Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, is a former U.S. deputy assistant attorney general and serves on the board of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. She is a Democrat. Paul Helmke, the former mayor of Fort Wayne, Indiana, is a Republican and president of the Brady Campaign. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend says the bloody Mexican drug war is being fueled by American guns. (CNN) -- America's neighbor to the south is engaged in a bloody war with ruthless drug cartels. It is a war that is threatening to bring down the government of Mexico, is spilling over into neighborhoods in the United States and is fast becoming a serious national security concern.
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Townsend, Helmke: U.S. guns are helping fuel the Mexican drug war
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They say U.S. should close loophole letting guns be sold without background check
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They say Congress should drop limits on federal release of gun data
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Townsend, Helmke: U.S. should strengthen powers of federal firearms agency
We should heed the call of @placeholder officials to help stop the violence there, but we also should heed the call of the vast majority of Americans to stop the violence in their communities.
We should heed the call of Mexican officials to help stop the violence there, but we also should heed the call of the vast majority of @placeholder to stop the violence in their communities.