Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey has issued a letter to the Department of Commerce, urging the withdrawal of a proposed rule that he claims limits Americans’ ability to export firearms unconstitutionally.
“The right to keep and bear arms is inalienable, and it is my sacred duty to protect it whenever, wherever, and however it be imperiled,” said Bailey. “My office will always fight to safeguard Missourians’ Second Amendment rights against encroachment by unelected federal bureaucrats.”
The Biden Administration’s Interim Final Rule on Firearms proposes several changes: it restricts firearm exportation, reclassifies semi-automatic guns, complicates the process for export exceptions, and increases paperwork. The rule also threatens manufacturers’ legal ability to sell firearms internationally, potentially leading to lost sales, reduced earnings, job losses, decreased investments in new technology, and a weakened American firearms industry.
Bailey argues that the rule implies government entities are more deserving of firearms than civilians and that government users are inherently safer and less likely to misuse firearms overseas. He highlights past instances where government-held firearms fell into the hands of bad actors, including the 2014 incident where firearms abandoned by the U.S. were seized by ISIS and the recent incident during the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, which allowed weapons to fall into Taliban hands.
In his letter, Bailey asserts that the Biden Administration “has entirely failed to consider the economic impact of this rule in addition to the fact that many claims that BIS makes about increased national security are dubious. This rule will in effect inhibit the full enjoyment and exercise of the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms for self-defense.”
Bailey emphasizes that the firearms industry is crucial to the U.S. and Missouri economies, creating thousands of jobs and generating billions of dollars. He claims the proposed rule oversteps legal authority and will weaken the firearms manufacturing industry.
Bailey’s letter calls for the immediate withdrawal of the rule. The full letter is available to read here.
