Driving Firearms Manufacturers Out Of Business

On October 27th, 2023, a “90-day pause” to examine firearm export policy was announced by the Biden Administration. (If my calendar is correct, the 90 days pause has lasted over 180 days.)

Exporting firearms from the U.S. involves two major entities: the U.S. Department of State controls exports of guns that are “inherently for military end use;” and the U.S. Commerce Department controls exports of guns that do not fit this category.

Under a just announced “Interim Final Rule” published by Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), the “pause” is going to become permanent policy. The export freezes sought by the Biden administration will be permanent. 

Hiding under the cover story of U.S. national security, this rule is intended to hobble the firearms industry’s ability to compete in the international market by eliminating export sales of firearms (by Americans) and, the Biden Administration hopes, make the firearms’ business less financially viable.

The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) estimates that the total economic impact of the Interim Final Rule easily exceeds $250 million to U.S. manufacturers and exporters, which is well above the low estimates BIS has been telling Congress.

The public can comment on the Interim Final Rule until July 1st.

The Interim Final Rule is scheduled to take effect May 30, 2024.

To intimidate exporters, under the Interim Final Rule, firearm export licenses will be reduced from four years to just one year.  (This has been a favorite tactic of Democrats since Franklin Roosevelt and his FCC tried to intimidate radio stations that dared to criticize FDR by dramatically shortening their licensing period.)

And there are foreign policy concerns (because the Biden Administration has been so successful in its foreign policy initiatives.)

License applications will consider foreign policy, national security risk factors, government corruption (ours or theirs?), diversion of firearms and human rights abuses, among other criteria.  (Sounds like something Letitia James would have thought up.)

There will be a presumption of denial for firearm export licenses to those countries identified by the State Department as “at risk,” which include 36 countries – mostly in Latin America, the Caribbean and Southeast Asian countries.

All previously approved firearm export licenses to “high risk” countries will be revoked 60 days after with the Interim Final Rule takes effect, in 2024

Will it make the world safer?  Nah!  Other countries are more than happy to fill the void and enjoy the sales revenue.  (Kinda like Biden’s policies on oil and natural gas.)

Constitutional protections are relatively weaker in firearm exports than in sales of firearms to U.S. citizens.  Executive authority is relatively greater in foreign affairs so the Biden administration takes advantage of this to weaken firearms manufacturers and drive them out of business.

Lawrence G. Keane, NSSF Senior Vice President & General Counsel said this:.

“The enmity of the Biden administration against the firearm industry and Second Amendment rights is without parallel. This is deeply troubling the lengths to which this administration will go to turn the levers of government against a Constitutionally-protected industry in order to cozy up to special-interest gun control donors.”

Is he saying Biden is catering to one branch of the Democrat Party in an election year by attacking firearms?  Is there any evidence that he does this sort of electioneering with other groups?  Say, forgiving student loans or reparations to blacks?  (Sarcasm intended.)

Keane also said: These “policies that would strike at the heart of the ability of this industry to stay in business. This has been the end goal since President Biden said from the Democratic debate stage that ‘firearm manufacturers are the enemy.’ This is a wholesale attack on the industry that provides the means for Americans exercising their Second Amendment rights.”

Remember when Biden came to office as a self-proclaimed uniter?  An American industry is his “enemy.”  That’s uniting?

Export licensing may seem distant from the usual 2nd Amendment issues but the Biden administration will use every power, constitutional or not, to achieve its far-left goals, which includes destroying 2nd Amendment rights.