Explore The NRA Universe Of Websites

APPEARS IN News

Fake News: Washington Post Falsely Suggests Trump Will Arm Foreign Tyrants With American Guns

Friday, September 29, 2017

Fake News: Washington Post Falsely Suggests Trump Will Arm Foreign Tyrants With American Guns

Reports arose recently that the White House is planning to approve changes to rules governing the export of U.S. firearms and ammunition. Predictably, before the planned regulations were even released for public review and comment, the Washington Post swiftly activated its fake news division to breathlessly warn America of the horrible outcomes the changes “could” provoke. The basic thrust of the article was that President Trump would risk putting American firearms into the hands of terrorists and human rights abusers to favor the gun industry.

Not even close.

Only after 10 paragraphs of scare tactics and hyperventilating did the Post article admit that the plan the Trump administration seeks to finalize actually originated under the Obama administration. “President Barack Obama,” the article stated, “moved oversight of many weapons exports from State to Commerce — but not small arms.” The writer seemed to imply that small arms were somehow uniquely dangerous and so required extra special consideration. 

That’s laughable.

Small arms were actually among the first of the planned moves, which makes perfect sense. They are the least sophisticated, most readily-available of the systems involved in the long-standing reforms and ones with obvious and legitimate applications in the commercial sector. The writer was correct, however, when he notes that including them in the plan “became politically unpalatable” when Obama decided to make gun control a major agenda item during his second term. But to be clear, the hold-up has always been about anti-gun politics, not serious concerns about national security or firearms falling into the wrong hands. 

Only after 10 paragraphs of scare tactics and hyperventilating did the Post article admit that the plan the Trump administration seeks to finalize actually originated under the Obama administration. 

The types of materiel that have been transferred from the oversight of the State Department to that of the Commerce Department make this abundantly clear. These include highly-sophisticated and proprietary technologies that would be much more devastating than guns “in the wrong hands,” including categories encompassing spacecraft, toxicological agents, “nuclear weapons related articles,” and “directed energy weapons.”  It’s ridiculous on its face to suggest that the .22s, bolt-action rifles, .38 special revolvers, and AR-15s, whose export is still regulated by the State Department – and which can easily be produced anywhere in the world – are somehow of greater concern. The U.S. government clearly does not want any of these things to wind up in the wrong hands and just as clearly will maintain protocols to ensure that they don’t, no matter which agency controls their export.

And the Post also failed to mention that exports of many American-made shotguns and shotgun ammunition are already regulated by the Commerce Department, without any of the adverse outcomes the article suggests that regime would have.

So why is the Post and its anti-gun fellow travelers so dead set against including guns in the same regulatory reforms that have already safely benefitted American aerospace, biotechnological, and electronics companies, among others?

Simply put, leaving ordinary firearms and ammunition under the regulatory purview of the State Department subjects the mostly small businesses that produce or work on these items or their components to the same rules that apply to manufacturers of nuclear submarines. This means reams of red tape and expensive fees that don’t apply to other common consumer products that you can buy at many big box stores and strip malls. It’s also means that it’s more difficult for hunters or sportsmen who are traveling overseas with their guns to make lawful temporary “exports.”

We’ve long chronicled the problems inherent in the State Department’s regulations of firearms exports, including here, here, and here. Those aren’t glitches or unintended consequences to gun control advocates, however, but “features” they fear would be lost under the planned reforms. These “features” shut down law-abiding manufacturing and gunsmithing right here in the U.S. and even interfere with efforts to teach foreign nationals residing in the U.S. how to safely use and handle firearms. 

And because the regulatory reforms mentioned in the Post article also contemplate tougher oversight of the items left under the State Department’s jurisdiction, these problems are only likely to get worse.

Unlike the Washington Post, we will wait until the regulations are actually released before undertaking a detailed critique of their merits. But the planned reforms have always been about making American businesses, manufacturing, and technology more competitive, while ensuring the heavy-handed oversight of the State Department can focus where it’s most needed to protect U.S. and international peace. Second Amendment advocates should, as usual, take what the Washington Post says about the planned changes with a heavy dose of salt.

TRENDING NOW
Reported ATF Email Sparks Concerns of Braced Pistol Crackdown

News  

Monday, January 13, 2025

Reported ATF Email Sparks Concerns of Braced Pistol Crackdown

On Friday, Gun Owners of America published an email reportedly received by one of its members in response to a question to ATF about whether adding a brace to a CZ Scorpion pistol would convert ...

U.S. Appellate Court Issues Case on Marijuana Use and Firearm Possession

News  

Monday, January 13, 2025

U.S. Appellate Court Issues Case on Marijuana Use and Firearm Possession

Last Monday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit – which encompasses Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas – reversed the conviction of a man under a federal law that prohibits firearm possession by one ...

Illinois: Gun Seizure Mandate Passes House, Headed to Governor's Desk

Wednesday, January 8, 2025

Illinois: Gun Seizure Mandate Passes House, Headed to Governor's Desk

Last night, HB 4144 passed the Illinois House by a vote of 80-33 in the final hours of the General Assembly’s lame duck session. It now goes to the Governor for his signature.

Colorado: Semi-Auto Ban Introduced on First Day of Session

Thursday, January 9, 2025

Colorado: Semi-Auto Ban Introduced on First Day of Session

Without skipping a beat, anti-gun legislators in Colorado have introduced a near all-encompassing ban on semi-automatic firearms on the first day of the legislative session.

Urge Congress to Protect Your Right to Carry – Contact Your Member of Congress Today!

News  

Wednesday, January 8, 2025

Urge Congress to Protect Your Right to Carry – Contact Your Member of Congress Today!

Dear NRA Member: U.S. Representative Richard Hudson (R-NC) has reintroduced the Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act (H.R. 38). Representative Hudson, the longstanding champion of this legislation, along with more than 120 of his colleagues have ...

Washington: Gun-Free Zone Bill Scheduled for Hearing Tuesday

Friday, January 10, 2025

Washington: Gun-Free Zone Bill Scheduled for Hearing Tuesday

The Washington State legislature is wasting no time in their efforts to erode your Second Amendment rights. The legislature will convene the 2025 session on Monday and has already scheduled a committee hearing for a "gun-free" zone ...

NYC’s Subway System: Sensitive Place? No. Senseless Violence? Yes.

News  

Monday, January 13, 2025

NYC’s Subway System: Sensitive Place? No. Senseless Violence? Yes.

In the 2008 District of Columbia v. Heller U.S. Supreme Court decision, Justice Antonin Scalia contemplated potential location restrictions governments could impose on the exercise of Second Amendment rights.

Good News, Bad News on ATF Director Dettelbach

News  

Monday, January 6, 2025

Good News, Bad News on ATF Director Dettelbach

It’s really just good news to report that Joe Biden’s director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Steven Dettelbach, has announced his resignation.  

Interest in Firearms Training Increasing in Finland

News  

Monday, January 13, 2025

Interest in Firearms Training Increasing in Finland

Finland is not great when it comes to regulating guns.  Like most of Europe, there are a great many restrictions, such as permit, registration, training, and storage requirements, as well as limitations on the types ...

The Great Canadian Gun Grab – The End is Near?

News  

Monday, January 6, 2025

The Great Canadian Gun Grab – The End is Near?

As we noted in a previous alert, in early December Canada’s governing Liberal Party announced 324 more models and “variants” of firearms had been added to the list of banned “military grade assault weapons” initially ...

MORE TRENDING +
LESS TRENDING -

More Like This From Around The NRA

NRA ILA

Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the "lobbying" arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.