The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Activists oppose foreign gun sale plan
WASHINGTON — A Trump-administration measure that would lift foreign gun sales — backed by the Newtown-based National Shooting Sports Foundation — has sparked a wave of opposition among gun-rights activists.
The president’s proposed rule, introduced in May, would shift oversight of foreign handgun and semiautomatic rifle sales from the State Department to the Commerce Department.
But the rule must survive waves of public comment before any change can go into effect. As the July 9 deadline nears — marking the end of a 45-day comment period — much of the public commentary is expressing opposition to the rule, with the majority saying the proposal is the result of gun lobbyists’ efforts to offset reductions in domestic gun sales.
“This is yet another example of the Trump administration promoting the economic interests of the gun industry over the lives and safety of Americans across the country and now, people around the world,” Rep. Elizabeth Esty, D-Conn., and the vice chairwoman of the House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, said. Esty did not comment directly on the feedback pages.
The rule would also eliminate Congress’ ability to approve gun sales overseas that are more than $1 million.
Other commentators harped on remarks that the rule would fuel gun violence in other countries, where firearm restrictions are relatively looser than the United States.
“Sound policy would not make it easier for U.S. gun manufacturers who made the assault weapons used in the mass shootings at Sandy Hook, Pulse nightclub, Las Vegas and Parkland to sell them to international buyers,” Kristen Rand, the legislative director at the Violence Policy Center, said.
Implementing the rule has been a top priority for the NSSF and the National Rifle Association. The organizations have not commented officially about their position on Trump’s rule, but a spokesperson for the NSSF said their respective organization would release a statement Friday.
The number of comments posted on the government regulations website is just shy of 200, but Kevin Wolf, who represents the NSSF, said more will pour in just before the deadline.
Wolf, who once worked on the same issue in the Department of Commerce under former president Barack Obama, said public comments are taken with significant consideration because they lay the groundwork for how different governmental departments will sort out logistics of the proposal.
Despite opposition toward the proposal, he said backlash may wind down if people understand that the rule is not an effort to decontrol gun protections.
Those in favor of the proposal said the rule would strengthen small business and place them in a globally competitive market. Some proponents of the also suggested revisions, saying the proposed rule should also double the magazine capacity from 50 to 100 rounds to line up with other nations.
The proposal was introduced as the nation was shaken by another mass shooting in Texas, with gun-rights organizations like the Sandy Hook Promise saying the rule shouldn’t go into effect.
Government officials could reach a consensus on whether to implement the rule by as early as the end of this year, giving some Connecticut-based gun manufacturing facilities a leg up in firearm sales.
One facility is Colt, a Hartford-based gun manufacturing business. The company has skyrocketed gun exports from 97 to 1,140 between 2013 and 2016, according to data compiled by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives. If the rule goes into effect, that number could surge.