User:Kythri

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[edit] 1989 and 1998 Executive Orders banning firearms importation

You asked me the following...

Various sources reference the 1989 "Import Ban" as being a GHW Bush Executive Order, and the the subsequent additions in 1998 by Clinton as also being enacted by Executive Order.

Do you have any information on this? I'm looking for the actual text of these orders or legislation, which bans a number of firearms, by name, from import.

Here is what I've come with up after some research:

Importation restrictions were not Executive Orders, but were rather Department Of Treasury (ATF) studies, which at least in 1998 had the backing of the White House, and probably in 1989 as well. These are therefore neither orders nor legislation, but are incorporated into the Code of Federal Regulations which is created by the agencies responsible for enforcing the United States Code. I believe this for the following reasons:

1. A simple search of all 1989 Executive Orders as well as those from 1998 yield no orders relating to arms importation (although there are ones about exports).

2. A search of all Executive Orders since 1937 for anything to do with "firearm" "firearms" "gun" or "guns" yield nothing relevant.

I therefore conclude that it is unlikely that there is any Executive Order that directly regulates the importation of firearms.

Now, the Gun Control Act of 1968 banned the importation of military firearms from overseas, largely with the backing of the US arms industry in order to reduce competition. Firearms for sport however were still authorized to be imported. In 1989 and in 1998 the ATF did a study to help determine what exactly is a sporting firearm. The 1998 study can be found in full here. Within it you will find a White House Memorandum supporting this "study" which helped put the fine print in regulation of importation of "sporting firearms."

I did not find the original 1989 study which creates the "sporting test," but there is reference to it in the 1998 study. You will find this of page 9 of the Background chapter. It starts with:

"In 1989, after five children were killed in a California schoolyard by a gunman with a semiautomatic copy of an AK47, ATF decided to reexamine whether certain semiautomatic assault-type rifles met the sporting purposes test. This decision was reached after consultation with the Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy. In March and April 1989, ATF announced that it was suspending the importation of certain "assault-type rifles." For the purposes of this suspension, assault-type rifles were those rifles that generally met the following criteria: (1) military appearance; (2) large magazine capacity; and (3) semiautomatic version of a machinegun. An ATF working group was established to reevaluate the importability of these assault-type rifles. On July 6, 1989, the group issued its Report and Recommendation of the ATF Working Group on the Importability of Certain Semiautomatic Rifles (hereinafter 1989 report)"

It sites the Office of National Drug Control Policy as its policy driving force, not the White House. If you are looking for a political viewpoint, then this is inconclusive whether or not President Bush (senior) had a direct role in this. However, since it did fall under the watch of his Control Policy, I think it's safe to say he at least gave passive approval. Don't forget of course that his son, the current President, also publicly said that he would sign the renewal of the Assault Weapon Ban (a hugely more restrictive regulation) if he had the chance. So I always take with a grain of salt any political interpretations, since there is almost always a lot more in the background then the simple sound bytes.

Anyway, nor was this the first time the ATF took part in a "sporting firearm" test. The first one was under President Reagan in 1984 found in Page 7 of the Background Chapter.

I hope this helps answer your question. There was no "Executive Order" that I found. Only Administration approval (either passive or active) for the ATF to expand the "sporting test" for firearms importation. Wodan 16:43, 13 April 2006 (UTC)

Many thanks! Only other question that I have is - do you know where these lists of banned-from-import firearms are? I've heard 38 (or 30-something) banned in 1989, and an additional 53 banned in 1998. Kythri 11:36, 14 April 2006 (UTC)

• Update: Good news. I found the information for you. You can find it on pages 167 and 168 of publication 5300.4 Federal Firearms Regulations Reference Guide 2005. You can download the entire pdf file here. Wodan 23:12, 5 May 2006 (UTC)

THANK YOU!!! Kythri 11:47, 30 May 2006 (UTC)