Critics are misinformed about gun proposal

The July 3 Hearst Connecticut news story, “Public voices opposition to foreign gun sale proposal,” repeats a narrative adopted by elected politicians who have decided that reflexive anti-gun politics and demonizing an entire industry appeals to their core voter base.

For their information and talking points, they rely on the wellfunded anti-gun lobby.

The narrative is inaccurate and purposely inflammatory.

The export of firearms was one category of several identified for export regulation reform by career professionals during the Obama administration.

The White House at the time ran out the clock on that effort due to its gun-control politics.

The Trump administration is moving ahead on the previously proposed rule that shifts regulation of sporting and commercial — not military — firearms from the professionals in the State Department to those in the Commerce Department.

While it makes for a nice soundbite or tweet, this is not a Trump administration play to shore up an industry concerned with declining domestic sales, which remain strong by historical standards.

Foreign countries, of course, have their own gun-control laws and the proposed rule would do nothing to weaken those.

I would point out that several countries with very tough such laws in place have seen horrific terrorist attacks carried out with illegal fully automatic black-market firearms.

These are not the type of firearms that could be exported by American companies under the proposed rule, no matter how many times politicians use the “assault weapon” label.

The proposed rule, for which my organization will submit comments on Friday, will help level the playing field for American manufacturers to help compete against foreign companies in overseas markets.

Many are small businesses that have had to pay a fee even if they did no exporting. You read that correctly. Does that make sense?

Those who pretend to hold a rhetorical moral high ground and repeat broad false accusations that our industry seeks to undermine public safety here, and now abroad, for their own gain in an election year, not only seek to avoid constructive conversation about what really would make our country safer, they play the politics of division.