Rep. Green Demands Answers After Commerce Department Pauses Civilian Firearm Exports

MarkGreen · November 7, 2023, 10:08pm

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Rep. Green Demands Answers After Commerce Department Pauses Civilian Firearm Exports

WASHINGTON—Today, Rep. Mark Green, Chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, sent a letter to the Biden administration demanding answers on the unprecedented and reckless restriction on civilian firearm exports. Green's letter to the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), an agency of the Department of Commerce, was signed by 87 other lawmakers.

Green said: “First, President Biden tried to strip funding from hunting and archery programs in our schools because of his antipathy for the Second Amendment. Now, he is prohibiting law-abiding businesses from selling their firearms overseas. This administration must explain itself."

In the letter, the lawmakers write: “As long as evil persists, there will always be a need for good people to defend themselves and their loved ones. The need for the Second Amendment was not limited to the American Revolution nor the American Republic. Every person has a right to self-defense. Not only does BIS’s pause on firearms export licenses leave people even more vulnerable, but it will also push buyers to look elsewhere to meet their customers’ demands.”

The lawmakers continue: “Belligerent actors are becoming more aggressive and emboldened; regimes like Iran and China are posturing toward force and increasing their military capabilities. The surprise attacks against Israel should dispel any notion that BIS can justly or accurately assess who needs firearms for defense and who does not.”

The lawmakers conclude: “We demand that the Department end this ridiculous hypocrisy and continue the issuance of export licenses for firearms, related components, and ammunition. Continuing this pause will only weaken law-abiding civilians and hand criminal actors a monopoly of force. We also urge that BIS’s final assessment not deprive innocent people of the means for self-defense.”

This letter was signed by:

Gregory Murphy (R-NC); Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ); Scott Perry (R-PA); Debbie Lesko (R-AZ); Pete Sessions (R-TX); Nick Langworthy (R-NY); James Comer (R-KY); Mark Alford (R-MO); Andy Harris (R-MD); Greg Steube (R-FL); John Rutherford (R-FL); Ben Cline (R-VA); Chuck Fleischmann (R-TN); David Kustoff (R-TN); Keith Self (R-TX); Mike Collins (R-GA); Tim Walberg (R-MI); Neal Dunn (R-FL); Matt Rosendale (R-MT); Glenn Grothman (R-WI); Tom Tiffany (R-WI); Drew Ferguson (R-GA); Rudy Yakym III (R-IN); Diana Harshbarger (R-TN); Tim Burchett (R-TN); Josh Breechen (R-OK); Bob Good (R-VA); Clay Higgins (R-LA); Andrew Clyde (R-GA); Andy Biggs (R-AZ); Warren Davidson (R-OH); Darrell Issa (R-CA); Aaron Bean (R-FL); Ralph Norman (R-SC); Andy Ogles (R-TN); Sam Graves (R-MO); Byron Donalds (R-FL); Kelly Armstrong (R-ND); Eli Crane (R-AZ);Chuck Edwards (R-NC); Michael Cloud (R-TX); Scott DesJarlais (R-TN); John Moolenaar (R-MI); Chip Roy (R-TX); Randy Weber (R-TX); Bill Posey (R-FL); Mike Rogers (R-AL); Lance Gooden (R-TX); Mary Miller (R-IL); Guy Reschenthaler (R-PA); Claudia Tenney (R-NY); Brian Babin (R-TX); Robert Aderholt (R-AL); Kat Cammack (R-FL); Jeff Duncan (R-SC); John Rose (R-TN); Lauren Boebert (R-CO); Mike Bost (R-IL); Carol Miller (R-WV); Richard Hudson (R-NC); Russ Fulcher (R-ID); Paul Gosar (R-AZ); Kevin Hern (R-OK); Elise Stefanik (R-NY); Dusty Johnson (R-SD); John Curtis (R-UT); William Timmons (R-SC); Barry Moore (R-AL); Ronny Jackson (R-TX); Alex Mooney (R-WV); James Baird (R-IN); Ann Wagner (R-MO); Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA); Gary Palmer (R-AL); Gus Bilirakis (R-FL); Tracey Mann (R-KS); Ken Calvert (R-CA); Max Miller (R-OH); Stephanie Bice (R-OK); Barry Loudermilk (R-GA); Adrian Smith (R-NE); Michelle Fischbach (R-MN); Trent Kelly (R-MS); Buddy Carter (R-GA); Michael Guest (R-MS); Blake Moore (R-UT); Michael Burgess (R-MN)

This letter was endorsed by:

The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), Gun Owners of America (GOA), National Rifle Association (NRA), American Suppressors Association (ASA), the Firearms & Ammunition Import/Export Roundtable, and Heritage Action.

Read the letter here.

Read more from Stephen Dinan in the Washington Times exclusivehere.