Mike Stone and Matt Spetalnick / Reuters & Chris Carr / Everytown for Gun Safety – 2017-09-21 16:01:10
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-weapons-exclusive/exclusive-trump-administration-prepares-to-ease-export-rules-for-u-s-guns-idUSKCN1BU2N8
Trump Administration Prepares to Ease Export Rules for US Guns
Mike Stone and Matt Spetalnick / Reuters
WASHINGTON (September 21, 2017) The Trump administration is preparing to make it easier for American gun makers to sell small arms, including assault rifles and ammunition, to foreign buyers, according to senior US officials.
Aides to President Donald Trump are completing a plan to shift oversight of international non-military firearms sales from the State Department to the Commerce Department, four officials told Reuters.
While the State Department is primarily concerned about international threats to stability and maintains tight restrictions on weapons deals, the Commerce Department typically focuses more on facilitating trade.
The officials from multiple agencies, speaking on condition of anonymity, say the new rules will cut government red tape and regulatory costs, boosting US exports of small arms and creating jobs at home.
“There will be more leeway to do arms sales,” one senior administration official said. “You could really turn the spigot on if you do it the right way.”
The push fits both Trump’s support for the gun lobby espoused on the campaign trail and his “Buy American” agenda.
But critics, including some lawmakers and arms control advocates, have expressed concern that any easing of export rules could make powerful weapons of the type often used in US mass shootings more accessible to criminal gangs and militant groups that Trump has vowed to fight.
The administration has all but finalized a draft of the new rules, which could be sent to the White House budget office for review within days, one US official said.
The changes — which can be enacted without congressional approval — could be made public this fall, followed by a period of public comment, with implementation as early as the first half of next year, the officials said.
The officials stressed, however, that the proposed shift in oversight was not a blanket deregulation of firearms.
“The NSC is working through the interagency process with the State Department and the Department of Commerce to ensure that US industries have every advantage in the global marketplace, while at the same time ensuring the responsible export of arms,” said an official with the White House National Security Council.
Don Jr.’s Friends Wrote the Gun Silencers Bill
Chris Carr / Everytown for Gun Safety
(September 21, 2017) — Donald Trump Jr. and the gun lobby are feeling pretty good right now about their gun silencers bill in Congress. The bill that the silencers industry wrote.
Yes, you read that right — the dangerous proposal that would boost gun industry profits at the expense of public safety was written by the very people that would make money off of it. And the bill could be headed to the House floor for a vote as early as next week.
The NRA spent $50 million to elect Donald Trump and allies in Congress last year, and they’ve spent millions this year lobbying Congress. All so they can get their dangerous proposals through Congress.
While Don Jr. and the silencers industry are pushing to make it easy for felons and domestic abusers to buy gun silencers, we’re fighting to protect our families and communities. Help us do everything we can to beat this dangerous gun silencers bill and protect our communities.
Posted in accordance with Title 17, Section 107, US Code, for noncommercial, educational purposes.
