HOT HOT HOT
8 round, semi-automatic, gas operated, shoulder fired rifle. This is high capacity?!? Huh?!?!? This is little more than a hunting load.....
The South Korean government, in an effort to raise money for its military, wants to sell nearly a million antique M1 rifles that were used by U.S. soldiers in the Korean War to gun collectors in America.
The Obama administration approved the sale of the American-made rifles last year. But it reversed course and banned the sale in March – a decision that went largely unnoticed at the time but that is now sparking opposition from gun rights advocates.
A State Department spokesman said the administration’s decision was based on concerns that the guns could fall into the wrong hands.
“The transfer of such a large number of weapons — 87,310 M1 Garands and 770,160 M1 Carbines — could potentially be exploited by individuals seeking firearms for illicit purposes,” the spokesman told FoxNews.com.
“We are working closely with our Korean allies and the U.S. Army in exploring alternative options to dispose of these firearms.”
Gun control advocates praised the Obama administration for taking security seriously.
“Guns that can take high-capacity magazines are a threat to public safety,” said Dennis Henigan of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. “Even though they are old, these guns could deliver a great amount of firepower. So I think the Obama administration’s concerns are well-taken.”
But gun rights advocates point out that possessing M1 rifles is legal in the United States — M1s are semi-automatics, not machine guns, meaning the trigger has to be pulled every time a shot is fired — and anyone who would buy a gun from South Korea would have to go through the standard background check.
“Any guns that retail in the United States, of course, including these, can only be sold to someone who passes the National Instant Check System,” said David Kopel, research director at the conservative Independence Institute. “There is no greater risk from these particular guns than there is from any other guns sold in the United States.”
M1 carbines can hold high-capacity ammunition clips that allow dozens of rounds to be fired before re-loading, but Chris Cox, chief lobbyist for the National Rifle Association, noted that is true about any gun in which an ammunition magazine can be inserted — including most semi-automatics.
“Anything that accepts an external magazine could accept a larger capacity magazine,” Cox said.
“But the average number of rounds fired in the commission of a crime is somewhere between 1 and 2 … this issue just shows how little the administration understands about guns.”
He called the administration’s decision “a de facto gun ban, courtesy of Hillary Clinton’s State Department.”
Asked why the M1s pose a threat, the State Department spokesman referred questions to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. ATF representatives said they would look into the question Monday afternoon, but on Wednesday they referred questions to the Justice Department. DOJ spokesman Dean Boyd referred questions back to the State Department.
According to the ATF Guidebook on Firearms Importation, it would normally be legal to import the M1s because they are more than 50 years old, meaning they qualify as “curios or relics.” But because the guns were given to South Korea by the U.S. government, they fall under a special category that requires permission from the State Department before any sale.
Kopel said that he hopes the State Department spokesman’s statement that it is working to “dispose” of the guns does not mean they want to melt them down.
“It seems to have this implication of destruction, which would be tremendously wasteful,” he said. “These are guns that should be in the hands of American citizens for marksmanship and safety training.”
Asked whether melting the guns down would be a good option, Henigan said: “Why let them into the country in the first place? If there is a legally sufficient way to keep them out, we think it’s perfectly reasonable to do so.”
Past administrations have also grappled with the issue of large-scale gun imports.
The Clinton administration blocked sales of M1s and other antiquated military weapons from the Philippines, Turkey and Pakistan. It also ended the practice of reselling used guns owned by federal agencies, ordering that they be melted down instead.
In contrast, 200,000 M1 rifles from South Korea were allowed to be sold in the U.S. under the Reagan administration in 1987.
A decision like that would be better for everyone, Cox said.
“M1s are used for target practice. For history buffs, they’re highly collectible. We’re going to continue to make sure that this backdoor effort that infringes not only on lawful commerce but on the Second Amendment is rectified.”
Henigan disagrees.
“They clearly were used as military guns, and the fact that they likely can take high-capacity magazines makes them a special safety concern,” he said.
The White House referred questions on the issue to the Pentagon, which referred questions to the U.S. Embassy in South Korea, which deferred back to the State Department.
MY COMMENT: As you can read this is just another way the Socialists are still trying to deny the citizens the right to have certain types of guns. Obviously they think this weapon is a threat to their agenda and don’t want any more of these being made available. They categorize it as a high capacity weapon. SO now 8 rounds is high capacity? I might understand that classification if it were of the same capacity as the M1 Carbine, which could hold up to 30 rounds. This is just an “in your face” attempt at gun control. We will make the Dems pay for this at the polls in November. Vote them all out of office.
Updated 090410:
http://www.nraila.org/Legislation/Federal/Read.aspx?id=6015
UPDATED 091710 SIGN THE PETITION
A Conservative American Vet's Point of View 
#1 by Rick L. on 09/05/2010 - 9:43 am
The argument that these M1 rifles are dangerous is absolutely ridiculous. If these rifles were as dangerous as they are being made out to be, South Korea would not be selling them, they would use them. These are collector items only and some jerk wanting to rob a bank or 7-11 is not going to walk in carrying an M1. You would more than likely see that happen in the Middle East where it seems quite normal for someone to be walking around carrying a rifle over their shoulder. This Dennis Herigan has been carrying the Brady Torch long enough. Sure it’s unfortunate that Tom Brady got shot and all, but there have been worse crimes with a lot of innocent people killed by all types of weapons. Like with O.J. Simpson and his knife or Charles Manson and his.
So, targeting these collectable M1’s is just giving someone something to do with time that could be better spent. And besides like the article says, there were 200,000 of them sold to the United States in 1987 and if they are such a dangerous weapon why don’t we see more shootings were people are using these M1’s? For years law abiding citizens have been going to gun shows and gun shops and purchasing thousands of weapons that are just as lethal as this M1. The problem here is people like this Dennis Henigan that apparently has nothing better to do with his time than keep trying to take away the rights of the American people. We must remember that the Clinton Administration blocked the sales of these types of weapons and we need to remember this when Hillary run’s for office. We need continued support of the NRA as long as they are willing to go to such great lengths to support the Second Amendment.
#2 by mike on 09/17/2010 - 6:24 am
what an asshole. he’s just doing it because he’s a liberal douch-bag. no one is going to rob someone or shoot someone with a WW2 rifle. those are extremely nice guns, the only people who will be buying them are sons and dad who want to use them for collecting or for target practice. i would be extremely surprised if a single one of these rifles wound up in the hands of someone who wanted to use it for the wrong purpose.
#3 by conservativeamericanvet on 09/17/2010 - 5:04 pm
Couldn’t say it any better myself!! Just another assault on the 2nd is all this is. NOVEMBER IS COMING. And remember Hillary is going to sign us into the Inter-American Arms Treaty. I guess she forgot what that kind of stuff did to the Bill and the Dem party back in ’94, and she is going to run for Pres?!?!? Yea,……Right….Good luck with that!!!!
#4 by Rick L. on 09/17/2010 - 9:26 pm
Update 9-17-10
Mike, we have known all along that Barrack Obama is a big open void underneath a donkey’s tail and this attempt to stop the sale of an American made rifle just shows how big of void he actually is. I’m wondering if someone else other than someone from the Obama Administration stands to make a profit off the sale of these collector items and could possibly be the reason why they are band? Anyone with any knowledge at all knows there is more serious fire power available to any gun enthusiast from any gun dealer here in the U. S. In reality this is just another attempt to flex the muscle’s of freedom haters here in America. A good support of the NRA, as long as they are for the rights of the American people is a good thing to do. Don’t forget, Hillary Clinton will lie and take away as much freedom from the American people as she can. So don’t vote for her, no matter how convincing she may sound or what she promises, especially seeing as how she will running against a Muslim this next presidential election. Long live the memory of Charlton Heston.
#5 by GENE WILLIS on 01/15/2013 - 5:21 pm
amazing,obamas gun runner eric holder and himself says they fear that the old weapons use by soldiers during the war will fall into criminal hands.gun runniners in the obama administration to mexico cartels.and they say criminals in this country will get them.it is to laugh.theserifles can be sold to the mexican cartels just like obamas gun runner did.more money in eric holders pocket,and obama and his gun running ilks can keep blaming the american citizens by gun baning people here.
#6 by GENE WILLIS on 01/15/2013 - 5:26 pm
hey every body,the great pretender is going to take the oath of office again.and we the people are going to believe that this fraud will keep and defend the contitution and the rights of the people?welll,you dumb eight balls voted him while black back into office.when you young ones end up in a fema camp,remember,you put you’r god back into office.