Guns.com
Proposal Could See Historical Firearms Return to the U.S from Overseas
By Chris Eger
A bill recently introduced into Congress aims to slice away government red tape that has long strangled the importation of historical guns to America's shores.
The "Lawful Purpose and Historical Firearms Act," introduced by U.S. Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), aims to revise the assorted various federal laws and rules that "interfere with the lawful use of firearms and to promote America's firearms heritage."
In short, the bill would jettison the byzantine restrictions that require a firearm to pass a murky "sporting purpose" test for importation. Established in 1968 following the passage of the Gun Control Act, this list of arbitrary factoring criteria is especially problematic for handguns and barred entire categories of pistols and revolvers from the U.S. market for over a half-century.
Instead, so long as the firearms aren't located in a country subject to an arms embargo, and are legal to own in America on the commercial market, few roadblocks would remain.
The GCA of 1968 effectively killed off a lot of classic European-made compacts such as the Browning Baby after they were prohibited from the U.S. market.
Going further, the proposal could pave the way for the return of historical American firearms, such as the M1 Garand and M1 Carbine, which supplied to U.S. allies during the Cold War. For instance, the return of over a million assorted M1s, to be brought back by home by Century Arms in 2014, was blocked by the Obama administration who stepped in at the last minute and sandbagged the deal.
Finally, so that such hardware could be preserved for future generations, the bill exempts museums from paying a transfer tax under the National Firearms Act to receive regulated items such as machine guns, suppressors, and short-barreled rifles so long as the items are intended for display or research.
"Not many people know that non-government museums are bound by firearms laws in the United States," said Ashley Hlebinsky, executive Director of the Firearms Research Center at the University of Wyoming. "As a result, many historically significant artifacts are destroyed because they cannot be legally possessed by non-governmental entities. No matter where one sits on the political debate regarding firearms, a desire to preserve our nation’s history should be universal."
The Lawful Purpose and Historical Firearms Act, introduced on Aug. 1 as S.4972, has two co-sponsors, Republican Senators John Barrasso (Wyo.) and Cindy Hyde-Smith (Miss.). It has been referred to the Senate Finance Committee.
While the likelihood of the bill even getting on the schedule for a committee hearing in the current Congress is slim, it gives a window into what could be should new management come to Washington in 2025. The current polarity of 51 Democrats/Independents vs 49 Republicans could be much changed after November as 34 seats in the chamber are up for grabs, 23 of which are blue.