I Wish Donald Trump...

[LogicMan]

....would sign an executive order repealing all of Obama's gun control executive orders. Would like if he'd repeal the G.H.W. Bush executive order that banned the import of "military" firearms, but at the very least, undo Obama's. Sadly I think this is going to be one of those very simple executive orders that no one gets around to because it doesn't occur to the GOP presidents

[Minorcan]

I agree but I think he's off to a great start. First things first; banned immigration of terrorists and criminals, started dismantling Obamacare, limiting lobbyist, approved the pipeline, cleaned up the State Department, etc. It will take time but so far I'm happy.

[Frank Ettin]

Originally Posted by LogicMan

...sign an executive order repealing all of Obama's gun control executive orders....

One thing is very important to understand about all the Executive Orders issued by Obama relating to firearm regulation: There are none.

You can find every Executive Order issued by Obama here.

[LogicMan]

One thing is very important to understand about all the Executive Orders issued by Obama relating to firearm regulation: There are none.

You can find every Executive Order issued by Obama here.

Didn't he sign an executive order banning the further import of surplus M1 Garands and M1 Carbines from South Korea, along with some others?

[carguychris]

Originally Posted by LogicMan

Didn't he sign an executive order banning the further import of surplus M1 Garands and M1 Carbines from South Korea, along with some others?

Yes AND no.

There was an EO issued, but contrary to what you may have heard, this EO doesn't actually say (cue Randy Travis) "Oh I'm gonna ban them for-ever, for-ever and ev-er amen..." or anything of the sort. Executive Order 13637 redelegated some authority under the Arms Export Control Act (which also controls imports) to the Secretary of State, who simply was not going to authorize the import of the rifles. The AECA grants the President broad authority to control imports and exports of defense articles. IOW it's not truly a ban; as I understand it, the next SoS could simply change course and authorize the Garands to be imported, without the EO necessarily having to be revoked first.

AFAIK the only other EO that relates to firearms in any way was Executive Order 13662, which imposed sanctions in early 2014 on various Russian people and companies in retaliation for Russia's participation in the Ukraine conflict. One of the sanctioned companies is the Kalashnikov Concern, so the EO resulted in a ban on Saiga rifles and shotguns. However, although this was characterized as an "AK-47" or "Russian firearms" ban in some reports, it's really not—it's a targeted ban on products under a particular corporate umbrella. Saiga fans remain nonplussed, but other Russian-made gun stuff remains commercially available.

AFAIK that's all of it. Before someone else writes "Hey wait a minute, what about the crackdown on gun show sales...," the early 2016 "executive actions" regarding private sales (discussed here and here) did NOT involve an actual executive order, or anything else substantive, except for hiring new NICS examiners while enacting a widely anticipated NFA rule change. The rest was basically just a PR campaign.

[thallub]

Didn't he sign an executive order banning the further import of surplus M1 Garands and M1 Carbines from South Korea, along with some others?

There was no executive order directly banning the re-import of Garands and M1 carbines from Korea. There are no executive orders pertaining to gun control, period. Reason: They are not needed. The "sporting purposes" clause of the GCA 1968 is cited and it's a done deal.

In 1989 the administration of Bush I banned the import of over forty semi-auto weapons by citing the "sporting purposes" clause of the GCA 1968.

After the "assault weapons" ban was passed in 1994 gun importers made some minor cosmetic changes and gave the guns new names. The administration of Bill Clinton then banned the import of those new semi-auto weapons by citing the "sporting purposes" clause of the GCA 1968.

[carguychris]

Originally Posted by thallub

There was no executive order directly banning the re-import of Garands and M1 carbines from Korea. There are no executive orders pertaining to gun control, period. Reason: They are not needed. The "sporting purposes" clause of the GCA 1968 is cited and it's a done deal.

Except that the Obama administration did NOT use the sporting purposes clause to justify the Garand "ban"—see my explanation above.

I don't recall the Obama administration having enacted any new import bans based on the sporting purposes clause. I speculate that the Korean M1s were not banned under this clause because their widespread popularity in target shooting competitions and hunting would have made such a ban difficult to defend in court. Ergo, the administration enacted what's basically a temporary and discretionary restriction, but an ironclad and unilateral one that's difficult to directly challenge.

AFAIK the AECA gives the President very broad discretion to control the import and export of "defense articles" without having to get specific Congressional approval and/or go through a public comment period like with most federal regulations. This is the reason that several legislators proposed bills to reverse the Garand import restriction; AFAIK in order to reverse a Presidential decision under the AECA, the law has to be effectively amended to strip away his regulatory authority over the particular item(s).

[Aguila Blanca]

So let's all write to President Trump and politely request that he take whatever action is necessary to allow the repatriation of all those historic M1 Garands, M1 Carbines, and M1911s that are in foreign lands, waiting to be brought home.

[44 AMP]

You need to understand the "legal fictions" going on here.

Our side calls any restriction or regulation on our ability to shop the world's firearms market a "ban" or a restriction of our rights. It's not.

At least not in the legal sense. It's a trade restriction.

Yes, they do it to ..upset us, but its NOT gun control in their eyes, its TRADE control (legally) and just happens to involve guns.

As previously mentioned, it doesn't take a formal Executive Order to get this or that restricted or banned from import, that legal authority was given to the various Secretary level positions long ago. All it takes is a phone call from the Pres, and the Sec says "yes sir, yes sir, three bags full", and adds to the list.

This goes on with a huge amount of things, we tend to only notice it about guns.

[carguychris]

Originally Posted by 44 AMP

Our side calls any restriction or regulation on our ability to shop the world's firearms market a "ban" or a restriction of our rights. It's not.

At least not in the legal sense. It's a trade restriction.

+1, and IMHO it's important to understand this in respect to the Garand issue, which has been clouded by misleading and facile partisan rhetoric on BOTH sides.

Our side has been screaming "Obama institutes backdoor gun control Garand import ban by EO, boo!!" while the other side shouts "Obama stops thousands of cheap military rifles from flooding the streets, yay!!"

NEITHER claim is perfectly true in this case. Obama basically used a procedural trick to further delay an already long-delayed trade rule until his successor took office at the earliest. He played kick-the-can. This is NOT a semi-permanent import ban like the earlier "sporting purposes" bans or the Clinton VRA regarding Russian firearms.

[Mike38]

Didn't Obama sign an EO banning importation from Kalashnikov Concern? Or was it all Russian arms? Something like that?

[LogicMan]

Was there also some kind of EO signed or new rule passed to make it where if a veteran needs help with saying paying their bills, they can be labeled as mentally unfit to possess firearms?

Our side calls any restriction or regulation on our ability to shop the world's firearms market a "ban" or a restriction of our rights. It's not.

Yes, but one could say this about many forms of gun control. Legally, they may do one thing, but if they also infringe on a right, then they are also about controlling that right. With gun imports, it is a weaker argument to make because the courts would just reason, "They can purchase the guns made domestically, so it is not an infringement."

It's like the gun controllers trying to use the EPA to regulate the lead content in ammunition. It's not "gun control," it's "environmental safety." The GCA needs a reform to remove that "sporting purposes" nonsense.

[WyMark]

Obama should have singed an EO that forces people to do research on what they hear or read, and understand that there are actual FACTS, and that "alternative facts" are NOT facts, and that posting random made up BS on the internet doesn't make it for-reals.

[LogicMan]

Obama should have singed an EO that forces people to do research on what they hear or read, and understand that there are actual FACTS, and that "alternative facts" are NOT facts, and that posting random made up BS on the internet doesn't make it for-reals.

I did not realize that there were no official executive orders on the subject, so my apologies. One of those things that becomes repeated so often that one doesn't even realize it could be false.

[jonnyc]

"banned immigration of terrorists and criminals"

Did he??? That's not what happened.....either by intention or result.
If the man's not more careful he won't even last 4 years. Then we'll lose the House and Senate and our gun rights will be well and truly screwed.

[Glenn E. Meyer]

Not going in a useful fashion, so I'm calling it.

Closed