SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
To donate by check, phone, or other method, see our More Ways to Give page.
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
An AR-15 style rifle at Kahr Arms' Tommy Gun Warehouse on Kahr Ave., in Greeley, Penn., on Thursday, April 26, 2018. (Photo: Bryan Anselm/Redux For The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Gun control advocates slammed the Trump administration Thursday for siding with gun manufacturers and lobbyists after the White House slashed the oversight process for exporting weapons overseas.
In a new rule entered into the Federal Register on Thursday, the administration shifted oversight of many arms exports from the U.S. State Department to the Department of Commerce, a move expected to boost sales of ammunition and weapons including sniper rifles, AR-15s, and other semi-automatic firearms.
Gun manufacturers have lobbied for the shift, which will lower the industry's costs.
The gun control group Giffords Law Center denounced the new rule, which is set to take effect in March, on social media.
\u201cNEW: Trump just made it easier for the gun lobby to sell firearms abroad.\n\nThis new rule will eliminate congressional oversight, undermine strong gun laws in other countries, and make it easier for guns to fall into the wrong hands overseas. https://t.co/k1h1u0CBYf\u201d— Giffords (@Giffords) 1579805495
"Once again, the Trump administration chose gun industry profits over public safety," said Adzi Vokhiwa, the group's federal affairs manager. "Since this ill-conceived proposal was first announced nearly two years ago, human rights, arms control, and gun safety organizations repeatedly made it clear that oversight of firearms exports should remain with the State Department, which has the expertise to ensure that weapons do not fall into the wrong hands. The sale of firearms--domestically and abroad--deserves the highest level of scrutiny, and this regulation fails to offer much scrutiny at all."
Under the new system, gun manufacturers will have to meet fewer regulatory requirements to obtain an export license from the Commerce Department than they have from the State Department. Commerce is also not required to disclose to Congress when a commercial firearm sale exceeds $1 million.
Last May, as the administration was considering the change, more than 100 organizations including Amnesty International, Newtown Action Alliance, and the Arms Control Association wrote to members of Congress calling on them to support measures that would maintain oversight of arms exports.
Shifting oversight to Commerce, the groups wrote, would further contribute to humanitarian crises overseas.
"Although proponents of the proposed changes argue that small arms are 'less dangerous' because many can be bought in U.S. retail outlets, the fact is that armies are built from these firearms," the letter reads. "Small arms are the weapons of mass destruction in countries and regions such as Congo, Burma, Mexico, and Central America. AR- and AK-type rifles and their ammunition that would be transferred to Commerce control are weapons of choice for criminal organizations in Mexico and other Central American countries, contributing to the humanitarian catastrophe that drives many migrants north as guns flow south."
In December, Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) wrote to the State Department demanding a hold on the new rule shifting oversight of the exports.
When the administration announced last week that the rules would be entered into the Federal Register, Menendez said President Donald Trump was timing the "reckless" decision so that his representatives could "tout the new rules at the annual gunmakers' Las Vegas convention next week."
"As I tried to repeatedly explain to the Trump administration, semi-automatic firearms and ammunition--especially those derived from military models and widely in-use by military and security services--are uniquely dangerous," the senator said. "They are easily modified, diverted, and proliferated, and are the primary means of injury, death, and destruction in civil and military conflicts throughout the world. As such, they should be subject to more rigorous export controls and oversight, not less."
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Gun control advocates slammed the Trump administration Thursday for siding with gun manufacturers and lobbyists after the White House slashed the oversight process for exporting weapons overseas.
In a new rule entered into the Federal Register on Thursday, the administration shifted oversight of many arms exports from the U.S. State Department to the Department of Commerce, a move expected to boost sales of ammunition and weapons including sniper rifles, AR-15s, and other semi-automatic firearms.
Gun manufacturers have lobbied for the shift, which will lower the industry's costs.
The gun control group Giffords Law Center denounced the new rule, which is set to take effect in March, on social media.
\u201cNEW: Trump just made it easier for the gun lobby to sell firearms abroad.\n\nThis new rule will eliminate congressional oversight, undermine strong gun laws in other countries, and make it easier for guns to fall into the wrong hands overseas. https://t.co/k1h1u0CBYf\u201d— Giffords (@Giffords) 1579805495
"Once again, the Trump administration chose gun industry profits over public safety," said Adzi Vokhiwa, the group's federal affairs manager. "Since this ill-conceived proposal was first announced nearly two years ago, human rights, arms control, and gun safety organizations repeatedly made it clear that oversight of firearms exports should remain with the State Department, which has the expertise to ensure that weapons do not fall into the wrong hands. The sale of firearms--domestically and abroad--deserves the highest level of scrutiny, and this regulation fails to offer much scrutiny at all."
Under the new system, gun manufacturers will have to meet fewer regulatory requirements to obtain an export license from the Commerce Department than they have from the State Department. Commerce is also not required to disclose to Congress when a commercial firearm sale exceeds $1 million.
Last May, as the administration was considering the change, more than 100 organizations including Amnesty International, Newtown Action Alliance, and the Arms Control Association wrote to members of Congress calling on them to support measures that would maintain oversight of arms exports.
Shifting oversight to Commerce, the groups wrote, would further contribute to humanitarian crises overseas.
"Although proponents of the proposed changes argue that small arms are 'less dangerous' because many can be bought in U.S. retail outlets, the fact is that armies are built from these firearms," the letter reads. "Small arms are the weapons of mass destruction in countries and regions such as Congo, Burma, Mexico, and Central America. AR- and AK-type rifles and their ammunition that would be transferred to Commerce control are weapons of choice for criminal organizations in Mexico and other Central American countries, contributing to the humanitarian catastrophe that drives many migrants north as guns flow south."
In December, Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) wrote to the State Department demanding a hold on the new rule shifting oversight of the exports.
When the administration announced last week that the rules would be entered into the Federal Register, Menendez said President Donald Trump was timing the "reckless" decision so that his representatives could "tout the new rules at the annual gunmakers' Las Vegas convention next week."
"As I tried to repeatedly explain to the Trump administration, semi-automatic firearms and ammunition--especially those derived from military models and widely in-use by military and security services--are uniquely dangerous," the senator said. "They are easily modified, diverted, and proliferated, and are the primary means of injury, death, and destruction in civil and military conflicts throughout the world. As such, they should be subject to more rigorous export controls and oversight, not less."
Gun control advocates slammed the Trump administration Thursday for siding with gun manufacturers and lobbyists after the White House slashed the oversight process for exporting weapons overseas.
In a new rule entered into the Federal Register on Thursday, the administration shifted oversight of many arms exports from the U.S. State Department to the Department of Commerce, a move expected to boost sales of ammunition and weapons including sniper rifles, AR-15s, and other semi-automatic firearms.
Gun manufacturers have lobbied for the shift, which will lower the industry's costs.
The gun control group Giffords Law Center denounced the new rule, which is set to take effect in March, on social media.
\u201cNEW: Trump just made it easier for the gun lobby to sell firearms abroad.\n\nThis new rule will eliminate congressional oversight, undermine strong gun laws in other countries, and make it easier for guns to fall into the wrong hands overseas. https://t.co/k1h1u0CBYf\u201d— Giffords (@Giffords) 1579805495
"Once again, the Trump administration chose gun industry profits over public safety," said Adzi Vokhiwa, the group's federal affairs manager. "Since this ill-conceived proposal was first announced nearly two years ago, human rights, arms control, and gun safety organizations repeatedly made it clear that oversight of firearms exports should remain with the State Department, which has the expertise to ensure that weapons do not fall into the wrong hands. The sale of firearms--domestically and abroad--deserves the highest level of scrutiny, and this regulation fails to offer much scrutiny at all."
Under the new system, gun manufacturers will have to meet fewer regulatory requirements to obtain an export license from the Commerce Department than they have from the State Department. Commerce is also not required to disclose to Congress when a commercial firearm sale exceeds $1 million.
Last May, as the administration was considering the change, more than 100 organizations including Amnesty International, Newtown Action Alliance, and the Arms Control Association wrote to members of Congress calling on them to support measures that would maintain oversight of arms exports.
Shifting oversight to Commerce, the groups wrote, would further contribute to humanitarian crises overseas.
"Although proponents of the proposed changes argue that small arms are 'less dangerous' because many can be bought in U.S. retail outlets, the fact is that armies are built from these firearms," the letter reads. "Small arms are the weapons of mass destruction in countries and regions such as Congo, Burma, Mexico, and Central America. AR- and AK-type rifles and their ammunition that would be transferred to Commerce control are weapons of choice for criminal organizations in Mexico and other Central American countries, contributing to the humanitarian catastrophe that drives many migrants north as guns flow south."
In December, Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) wrote to the State Department demanding a hold on the new rule shifting oversight of the exports.
When the administration announced last week that the rules would be entered into the Federal Register, Menendez said President Donald Trump was timing the "reckless" decision so that his representatives could "tout the new rules at the annual gunmakers' Las Vegas convention next week."
"As I tried to repeatedly explain to the Trump administration, semi-automatic firearms and ammunition--especially those derived from military models and widely in-use by military and security services--are uniquely dangerous," the senator said. "They are easily modified, diverted, and proliferated, and are the primary means of injury, death, and destruction in civil and military conflicts throughout the world. As such, they should be subject to more rigorous export controls and oversight, not less."