ATF allows redesigned firearms - Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms
ATF Allows Redesigned Firearms
Guess who’s mad at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF). No, not the National Rifle Association. This time it’s the anti-gunners who are upset with the Bureau.
In fact, the anti’s and much of the media became nearly hysterical in late July when they discovered that several companies reportedly had received permission from ATF to import some altered versions of the firearms that were banned from import last year.
To hear much of the media tell it, you can now order air-to-air missiles and M1A1 Abrams tanks (or Leopard II’s for those of you who like imports) through the mail. Every newspaper and network seemed to carry a different version of what ATF’s position is on imports.
We finally asked ATF to clarify this matter and received a detailed reply from a fellow who should know: Stephen E. Higgins, director of ATF.
Higgins began by tracing the events of last year, as he informed SI that, “On March 14, 1989, ATF announced a suspension on the import of certain semiautomatic assault-type rifles, pending a review of whether these rifles met the sporting purposes test under the law. The temporary ban affected over 700,000 rifles covered by import permits already issued or pending approval.
“The ban was made permanent in July of 1989. It was not directed at all semiautomatic rifles. The ban was based on the fact that these weapons all possessed a number of military assault-type characteristics.
“Based on ATF’s firearms expertise, a survey of available literature and responses to questionnaires sent to many outside sources — including hunting and shooting clubs and state hunting officials — ATF determined there was no general recognition that these rifles were suitable for sporting purposes.
“Subsequently, several importers approached ATF to find out what modifications could be made to render their rifles importable. ATF required that all military features be eliminated. Over the past year, ATF has approved seven specific prototypes submitted of the redesigned firearms.
“The weapons approved for importation are in the configuration of traditional sporting rifles. This problem was initially faced when ATF found that one of the rifles on the suspension list, the Valmet Hunter (an AK-47 type), had been substantially altered in appearance and was clearly intended as a hunting rifle.
“ATF determined then that the alteration to the weapon and the fact that it employed a more traditional hunting configuration operated to remove it from the assault rifle category. Consequently, the Valmet Hunter was approved for import at the same time that the permanent ban was imposed on imported assault-type rifles.”
Higgins concluded, “ATF has repeatedly stated that the ban was not intended to interfere with the import of legitimate sporting rifles. As long as the rifles have been modified into a sporting configuration, there are no legal, policy or public safety considerations which would justify the disapproval of their import.”
The imports are considered so different from the originals that they are, in effect, entirely new models that qualify for importation as sporting firearms.
The importers have removed the firearms’ bayonet fittings, night sights, flash suppressors, grenade launchers and pistol grips — the very features that the government claimed made them unsuitable for “sporting purposes.”
However, the anti-gunners immediately screamed “foul” and claimed that the Bush Administration simply was trying to gain favor with pro-gun groups like the NRA, which strongly criticized the administration for banning imports in the first place.
White House spokesman Marlin Fitzwater further angered the anti’s when he told the media that, “Apparently the way the existing rules are written, ATF is not authorized to prevent these weapons from coming in.”
To make matters worse, Fitzwater said that the modified firearms would be allowed in the country under the provisions of the Omnibus Crime Bill that passed the Senate.
The anti-gun Firearms Policy Project (FPP) claims that the firearms that have been redesigned and approved for importation include the Uzi carbine, Galil, K-91, SAR-8 and SAR-4800. It says its assertions are based on documents obtained from ATF under the Freedom of Information Act.
“It’s more than a weakening,” FPP Director Josh Sugarmann told The New York Times. “It essentially renders the July (1989) ban null and void. These guns look less threatening, but they are not less deadly.”
Sen. Howard Metzenbaum (D-OH) — never one to miss an anti-gun cause — proclaimed, “We are either going to keep these weapons off our streets or we are not. The Bush Administration would do well to rethink its policy altogether and ban all assault weapons, foreign or domestic.”