Giffords Reacts to House Subcommittee Hearing on Proposed Trump Administration Rule to Loosen Restrictions on the Export of Firearms

March 26, 2019

March 26, 2019 — Giffords, the gun violence prevention organization led by former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, reacted today to the hearing held by the House Foreign Affairs Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee on the Trump Administration’s proposed rule to loosen restrictions on the export of firearms.

“The Trump Administration’s proposed rule would embolden terrorists while endangering innocent civilians across the world. The Commerce Department is woefully unprepared to ensure that American sniper rifles, semiautomatic assault weapons, and handguns do not end up in the hands of terrorists or other bad actors,” said Lindsay Nichols, Federal Policy Director at Giffords. “It is imperative that Congress retain its ability to exercise oversight over the export of firearms. We are grateful to Chairman Bera and the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations for prioritizing this issue and urge quick passage of H.R. 1134, the Prevent Crime and Terrorism Act, would which maintain the State Department’s regulatory authority over firearm exports.”

The proposed rule would move oversight of firearms and ammunition exports from the U.S. State Department’s U.S. Munitions List (USML) to the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Control List (CCL), where the rules regarding these transactions are less stringent. This change, pushed for by the gun lobby, could make it easier for terrorists, dictators, and other foreign actors to acquire weapons in troubled areas around the world.

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