Lawmaker Pushing to Maintain Current Gun Export Rules
Rep. Norma Torres, D-Calif., said in a letter on March 5 that she is seeking support from other members for her bill that will “maintain current firearm export policies” instead of adopting a proposal by the Trump administration that she said would create less oversight for gun exports. The administration's proposal, Torres wrote, would transfer oversight for firearms exports from the Department of State to the Department of Commerce, which would not require American gun and ammunition manufacturers to register with the State Department. “Firearms sales would be approved with little to no congressional oversight,” wrote Torres, who introduced the Prevent Crime and Terrorism Act that she said would nix the proposal. “If we are not careful, some of those firearms could end up in the hands of dictators, terrorists, and narco-traffickers.”
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Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., recently announced he would place a hold on the proposal, which was released last year. In a Feb. 22 letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Menendez pointed to fears that moving the responsibility for the controls from the U.S. Munitions List to the Commerce Control List would mean “less-stringent controls” are operative on those exports, including military-style semi-automatic pistols, assault-style rifles, sniper rifles and ammunition. Menendez said the hold will remain in place until Pompeo addresses several issues, including the “risk that this transfer will open the floodgates” of 3D printing of firearms by terrorists.