Eliot Engel: Ban parts kits, go after C&R...for Mexico's sake.

[Manedwolf]

Right. Our parts kits and C&Rs ARE KILLING MEXICANS IN DRUG WARS OH NOES!

Yeah, this is just going to get worse. Oh, and Kucinich signed onto it.

Thursday February 12, 2009  Jeremy Tomasulo
REP. ENGEL URGES PRESIDENT OBAMA TO ENFORCE BUSH 41/CLINTON RESTRICTIONS ON IMPORTED ASSAULT WEAPONS
Chairman of the House Western Hemisphere Subcommittee Leads Letter with 53 Members of Congress

Washington, D.C.--Congressman Eliot Engel, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, wrote a letter signed by 53 Members of Congress urging President Obama to “return to enforcement of the law banning imports of assault weapons, which was previously enforced during the administrations of Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton.” The letter was also led by Congressman Michael Castle (R-DE) and Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY).

“The alarming prevalence of imported assault weapons in the US has put our nation’s police officers at risk. Returning to the Bush 41/Clinton enforcement of the ban on imported assault weapons will protect our brave police forces and all people throughout New York and the United States,” said Rep. Engel.

Engel added that returning to enforcement of the imported assault weapons ban is “a no-brainer that would require no legislative action.”

In recent years, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) has quietly abandoned enforcement of the import ban (which was authorized by provisions in the 1968 Gun Control Act and enforced by Presidents George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton). As a result, the civilian firearms market is flooded with imported, inexpensive military-style assault weapons, primarily from former Eastern bloc countries including Romania, Bulgaria and the former Yugoslavia. Importers are also able to skirt the restrictions by bringing in assault weapons parts and reassembling them with a small number of US-made parts. Assault weapon “parts kits” for assembly by individuals are also being imported. ATF has further weakened the prohibition by placing certain extremely problematic assault rifles on the "curios or relics" list, making certain firearms automatically eligible for importation.

"Our failure to enforce restrictions on imported assault weapons is affecting our bilateral relationship with Mexico," said Rep. Engel. "We must do more to support our friends in Mexico whose drug war is fueled by firearms flowing south from the United States, many of which should never have entered the US in the first place.”

5,661 people died in Mexico in 2008 alone as a result of drug-related violence. This is more than double the 2007 total of 2,773. Over 90% of firearms confiscated yearly in Mexico orginate in the United States. As Chairman of the House Western Hemisphere Subcommittee, Rep. Engel is a strong supporter of the Merida Initiative – a US-Mexico security partnership announced in late 2007.  However, he also believes that the US must fulfill certain domestic obligations under the Merida Initiative, including an enhanced commitment to curb the illegal trafficking of firearms from the US into Mexico.

The full text of the letter and signatories are below:

Dear Mr. President:

We write to urge you to return to enforcement of the ban on imported assault weapons, including those that are fully manufactured abroad as well as those imported as parts, which was previously enforced during the administrations of Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton.  We believe that this issue has important implications for domestic public safety, homeland security, and our bilateral relationship with Mexico.

In the last eight years, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) has almost completely abrogated the ban on imported assault rifles.  This ban – first established nearly 20 years ago – was authorized by provisions in the 1968 Gun Control Act allowing ATF to prohibit the importation of firearms and ammunition that are not “particularly suitable for or readily adaptable to sporting purposes.”   The import restriction is independent of the Assault Weapons Ban of 1994, and was not affected by its “sunset” in 2004.

The ban on assault weapon imports was first enforced by the George H.W. Bush Administration in response to growing threats to law enforcement personnel from the increased use of assault weapons by drug traffickers and in mass shootings, like the Stockton schoolyard massacre in 1989.  The import restrictions were later strengthened in 1998 by the Clinton Administration to address foreign manufacturers that were evading the ban by making minor cosmetic changes to their weapons.  The definition was changed to include any assault rifle with the "ability to accept a detachable large capacity magazine originally designed and produced for a military assault weapon.”

Unfortunately, in recent years, ATF has quietly abandoned enforcement of the import ban.  As a result, the civilian firearms market is flooded with imported, inexpensive military-style assault weapons from primarily former Eastern bloc countries including Romania, Bulgaria and the former Yugoslavia.  Importers are also able to skirt the restrictions by bringing in assault weapons parts and reassembling them with a small number of US-made parts. Assault weapon “parts kits” for assembly by individuals are also being imported.   ATF has further weakened the prohibition by placing certain extremely problematic assault rifles on the "curios or relics" list, making certain firearms automatically eligible for importation.

The noxious results of reversing long-established policy extend beyond our borders and are directly affecting our foreign policy.  Assault weapons are being smuggled in bulk from U.S. border states to Mexico where they are used by narco-traffickers to fuel a drug war that is killing Mexican law enforcement and other officials at alarming rates.

The violence in Mexico has reached crisis proportions.  In December, Mexican Attorney General Eduardo Medina Mora reported that the total number of organized crime-related homicides in 2008 had reached 5,700, more than double the previous record of approximately 2,700 set in 2007.  The 2008 total includes 944 people killed in November alone, the deadliest month in Mexico’s history, in terms of drug violence.  In addition, the Attorney General confirmed that nearly 15 percent of the victims of the violence were members of law enforcement or the military.  He also projected that the country’s drug violence has not yet peaked, and is expected to continue during the first few months of 2009.  When the Merida Initiative was announced in October 2007, the George W. Bush Administration made a commitment to “intensify efforts” to combat the trafficking of guns from the U.S. into Mexico.  A return to the enforcement of the ban on the import of all assault weapons would help us to live up to this commitment.

Not only is the violence in Mexico already spilling over the border into the U.S., but the prevalence of imported assault weapons in the hands of criminals has made “officer survival” a critical issue for many urban law enforcement agencies.  The Miami Police Department has reported a steep rise in the number of murders and other crimes committed with assault weapons; a Romanian WASR-10 (AK-type) assault weapon was used to kill two Fairfax, Virginia police officers in 2006; a Romanian WASR-10 assault weapon was used in a mass shooting that left eight dead at a mall in rural Omaha, Nebraska in 2007.  The Associated Press conducted an analysis showing that the number of AK variants traced to crime by ATF has increased from 1,140 in 1993 to 8,547 in 2007.

These are just the sort of incidents and statistics that prompted the George H.W. Bush Administration to take action to halt assault weapons imports in 1989, and we believe demonstrate the importance of returning to enforcing the import ban once again.

We ask that you direct ATF to act in accordance with the 1968 Gun Control Act and return to enforcing the ban on the import of all assault weapons, both those that are fully manufactured abroad as well as those imported as parts.  By restoring these important restrictions, we will be able to help reduce violence here in the United States, while also sending an important signal to our friends in Mexico.  Thank you for your attention to this urgent matter.

Sincerely,

Eliot L. Engel (D-NY)
Michael N. Castle (R-DE)
Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY)
Gregory Meeks (D-NY)
Christopher Smith (R-NJ)
Alcee Hastings (D-FL)
Jerrold Nadler (D-NY)
Nita Lowey (D-NY)
Joseph Crowley (D-NY)
Bob Filner (D-CA)
Barbara Lee (D-CA)
Dennis Kucinich (D-OH)
Ellen Tauscher (D-CA)
Louise Slaughter (D-NY)
Bill Pascrell (D-NJ)
Marcy Kaptur (D-OH)
David Price (D-NC)
Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC)
Edward Markey (D-NA)
Chaka Fattah (D-PA)
Jim Moran (D-VA)
Robert Wexler (D-FL)
Earl Blumenauer (D-OR)
Brad Sherman (D-CA)
Jan Schakowsky (D-IL)
Gary Ackerman (D-NY)
Henry Waxman (D-CA)
Jose Serrano (D-NY)
John Conyers (D-MI)
Nydia Velazquez (D-NY)
Rosa DeLauro (D-CT)
Loretta Sanchez (D-CA)
John Olver (D-MA)
Betty McCollum (D-MN)
Rush Holt (D-NJ)
Linda Sanchez (D-CA)
Albio Sires (D-NJ)
Betty Sutton (D-OH)
Donna Christensen (D-VI)
Raul Grijalva (D-AZ)
Sam Farr (D-CA)
Jim McGovern (D-MA)
Lois Capps (D-CA)
Allyson Schwartz (D-PA)
Patrick Kennedy (D-RI)
Michael McMahon (D-NY)
Donna Edwards (D-MD)
Tim Bishop (D-NY)
Pete Stark (D-CA)
Doris Matsui (D-CA)
Zoe Lofgren (D-CA)
Paul Tonko (D-NY)
Mazie Hirono (D-HI)

http://engel.house.gov/index.cfm?ContentID=1590&ParentID=7&SectionID=216&SectionTree=7,216&lnk=b&ItemID=1580

[AZRedhawk44]

ATF has further weakened the prohibition by placing certain extremely problematic assault rifles on the "curios or relics" list, making certain firearms automatically eligible for importation.

Do tell... what long guns are on the C&R list that goes boom without a manual operation of the action?  The SKS?  Certainly not teh evilz AK.

Or, are they going after the M1 Garands and M1 Carbines that might still be overseas that the CMP could obtain?  Are those C&R eligible?

[Manedwolf]

Do tell... what long guns are on the C&R list that goes boom without a manual operation of the action?  The SKS?  Certainly not teh evilz AK.

Or, are they going after the M1 Garands and M1 Carbines that might still be overseas that the CMP could obtain?  Are those C&R eligible?

Actually, yes. Democrats not long ago had put out a piece of ignorance that the SKS was the "assault weapon of choice" for gang members and that its only purpose was to kill police.

Simonov would be amused...

[Jamisjockey]

Read the entirely partisan list of co-signers:  Only one state which shares a border wth Mexico is represented....

[Matthew Carberry]

I see CA and AZ on there, in addition to a couple Repubs from back East.

Still, no surprise in any of the names.

[AZRedhawk44]

I see CA and AZ on there, in addition to a couple Repubs from back East.

Still, no surprise in any of the names.

Raul Grijalva (D-AZ)

Him?

He's not Arizonan... he's there to represent Mexico in Congress. :rolleyes:

[StopTheGrays]

However, he also believes that the US must fulfill certain domestic obligations under the Merida Initiative,

Coincidence that if you move a few letters Merida spells mierda? Nah...

[coppertales]

We need to send MORE guns to mehico.  They would kill themselves off at a faster rate then and the problem would go away. However, the root cause of all this is MONEY.  And, mehico is at the top of the list for crooked politicians.......chris3

[Jamisjockey]

I see CA and AZ on there, in addition to a couple Repubs from back East.

Still, no surprise in any of the names.

Missed the AZ's and the (R)'s....guess it was hard reading through squinted-pissed-off-eyes.....


(Oh, the one (R) is from NJ...he doesn't count...)

[wquay]

From what I've been reading about the drug war in Mexico, they are now WAAAYYYYY beyond using "assault rifles." Grenades, RPGs, machine guns, are all seeing use down there.

[Jamisjockey]

From what I've been reading about the drug war in Mexico, they are now WAAAYYYYY beyond using "assault rifles." Grenades, RPGs, machine guns, are all seeing use down there.

You didn't know they were straw purchasing those things from gunshows and then smuggling them across the border??

 

[Manedwolf]

You didn't know they were straw purchasing those things from gunshows and then smuggling them across the border??

 

That bit never ceases to amaze me. In the videos of the gun battles going on in Tijuana, you can clearly hear the "BRRRRRRRRRT" of full auto fire.

Yeah, they bought those in the US...

[longeyes]

I have a better idea: ban imported assault weapon wielders.

We are not Mexico's problem; they are OUR PROBLEM.

[Leatherneck]

go after C&R

I don't see the reference to Crufflers; what am I missing?

TC

[Gewehr98]

To answer the question...

The ATF banned import of former Lend-Lease and Military Assistance Program M1 Garands and M1 Carbines around 1986. There was also an Executive Order signed reinforcing that import ban on USGI weapons as distributed by Uncle Sam to our allies around the world.

They more recently put the nail in that coffin by banning the importation of barrels for said rifles and carbines, as well as barrels for the AK, AR, FN-FAL, etc.  They used the sporting purposes clause, which is their catch-all justification.

There was a big stink about H&K being poopy-heads about not offering the HK416 for sale to civilians here.  In truth, it wasn't H&K who messed that up, it was the ATF barrel ban, since there was no domestic manufacturing capability for HK416 barrels.  I understand H&K is fixing that little problem.

I have both in black and white via the FFL documentation and newsletters that the ATF so courteously sends me every now and again.

[Leatherneck]

Ah. I see. Thanks, Gewehr.

TC

[PTK]

I really, really, REALLY want the sporting purposes idea to be challenged in court. It's gone too far - and has been too far since about, oh, 1968....

[Zardozimo Oprah Bannedalas]

Right. Our parts kits and C&Rs ARE KILLING MEXICANS IN DRUG WARS OH NOES!

You betcha. Drive-bys with Nagant revolvers. 

By restoring these important restrictions, we will be able to help reduce violence here in the United States, while also sending an important signal to our friends in Mexico. 

What friends in Mexico?

[Manedwolf]

They more recently put the nail in that coffin by banning the importation of barrels for said rifles and carbines, as well as barrels for the AK, AR, FN-FAL, etc.  They used the sporting purposes clause, which is their catch-all justification.

Brand new...Steyr...barrel...cut to chunks. I have the pieces yet, to show anyone how useless all of that is. You can see the gorgeous machining, and then you see the planes where the high-quality steel was sliced.

Thanks, ATF. I'm sure that made someone really safe, as all gangstas are known to use adjustable-gas classic battle rifles...

[AZRedhawk44]

Brand new...Steyr...barrel...cut to chunks. I have the pieces yet, to show anyone how useless all of that is. You can see the gorgeous machining, and then you see the planes where the high-quality steel was sliced.

I have a shattered H&R M14 receiver with the receiver mount for "da switch" sitting on my "angry shelf" in my office next to a copy of UC and Atlas Shrugged.

Good thing those gangsters aren't using it, either.

[PTK]

I have a torched Kp31 "Suomi" SMG. Pisses me off every time I see it, but I keep it anyway - the Finns really knew how to make a gun.

[Jocassee]

"Our failure to enforce restrictions on imported assault weapons is affecting our bilateral relationship with Mexico," said Rep. Engel

Because we know they're trying REEEAAAALY hard to enforce restrictions on their side.

[tokugawa]

So how did the CMP get all those Dane and Greek M1's? And the recent batch of M1 carbines from Italy?
 I am sure they came in way after 1986.

[Gewehr98]

Short answer? They were made there, or recovered by the government and bypassed ATF restrictions.

Lend-Lease weapons were made here, and shipped out.

Italian and Greek M1s (and some Danish, more further down) were made with tooling provided by Uncle Sam, but manufactured over there.

Winchester's M1 Garand tooling ended up in Italy in 1952, which gave Beretta a head-start on building their own M1 Garands, as well as their fabulous BM-59, beating the U.S. M14 to the punch by several years.  Never mind the fact that a Beretta-made M1 Garand is head and shoulders above a Springfield/Winchester/H&R/IHC M1 Garand in fit and finish. Even my Beretta BM-59 Nigerian makes an M14 look like it had been dragged behind a jeep for a long time.

The Danish Garands were not issued under Lend-Lease (Denmark was occupied during the war), and the first 20K rifles were simply loaned to them around 1950.  The Danes just returned them to us, and they went directly into Anniston's inventory (bypassing ATF import restrictions), put on the books like a standard USGI M1 Garand, ready for DCM/CMP sales. The remaining 40K rifles were actually purchased by the Danes, and after being phased out of service in the 1990s they've since been sold to Canadian firms, where they are parted out and sold to U.S. suppliers as parts/pieces.  The Danes also started buying Beretta-made Garands, which are also perfectly fine in importing under the onerous ATF rules. 

As for the Italian M1 Carbines that the DCM/CMP is now selling, it appears they have used a work-around to the Military Assistance Program non-import rules, beginning around 2007.  The DCM/CMP received them directly from the U.S. Army, which probably circumvented any ATF commercial FFL import restrictions. 

IOW, there's more than one way to skin a cat. The U.S. Army can recover it's loaned-out property via government channels, and sell them via the government-sponsored DCM/CMP, but SOG, Century Arms, and other commercial FFL importers are left holding the bag. Go figure...

[AZRedhawk44]

The U.S. Army can recover it's loaned-out property via government channels, and sell them via the government-sponsored DCM/CMP, but SOG, Century Arms, and other commercial FFL importers are left holding the bag.

Makes me want to cry, really.   

You've got the arm of the government that is truly charged with protecting us from all enemies, foreign and domestic, essentially smuggling arms in (legally) for civilian use.  They do it because it increases marksmanship of the lay population, which is good for the skills of new recruits as well as an arguable invasion deterrent.

Then you've got another arm of the government who has a domestic-only charter to protect us from domestic enemies, involved with curtailing the supply of weapons to law abiding and background-verified citizens.  This arm would happily strangle the Army's means of supplying the ODCMP if they had the clout.

Really tells you who's on what side...