Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey is demanding the U.S. Department of Commerce rescind a proposed ruling to limit firearms exports, calling it unconstitutional.
“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,” Bailey said July 8. “My office will always fight to safeguard Missourians’ Second Amendment rights against encroachment by unelected federal bureaucrats.”
According to Bailey’s office, the DOC’s Interim Final Rule on Firearms limits American firearm exportation, gives semi-automatic guns new classifications, makes it harder to get exceptions for exporting these items to many international locations and makes paperwork more complicated. Additionally, the AG’s office says the rule threatens manufacturers by restricting their legal ability to sell firearms internationally, which would result in lost sales, reduced earnings, job losses, decreased investments in new technology and weakening of the American firearms industry.
“This rule will significantly harm our economy and undermine the rights of Americans, while the effectiveness of the alleged benefit to national security is highly questionable,” Bailey wrote. “As the Attorney General for the State of Missouri, I have a responsibility to ensure that the well-being, security, and fundamental rights of American citizens are safeguarded from the harmful effects of this regulation.”
Bailey’s office says the proposed rule has a “profoundly flawed foundation” because of “elitist federal bureaucrats,” It says the rule implies that government entities are more deserving of firearms than civilians, and that government users are inherently safer and less likely to misuse firearms overseas.
“Companies that manufacture firearms, ammunition, and components could face an immediate reduction of their export operations,” Bailey wrote in the letter. “With export licenses rendered invalid, these businesses lose access to international markets where a significant portion of their revenue may be generated. In this circumstance, layoffs and job cuts become inevitable, leading to increased unemployment and even reduced wages and benefits for workers who retain their jobs.”
In his letter to acting DOC Director Anthony Christino, Bailey notes past instances when government-held firearms fell into the hands of bad actors, including in 2014 when millions of dollars’ worth of firearms were abandoned by the United States and seized by ISIS, and more recently when the Biden Administration’s disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan allowed large stockpiles of weapons to fall into the hands of the Taliban.
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,” Bailey wrote in the four-page letter. “This rule will in effect inhibit the full enjoyment and exercise of the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms for self-defense.”
The firearms industry is a vital part of not only the U.S. economy but specifically Missouri’s economy, creating thousands of jobs and generating billions of dollars nationwide. Biden’s proposed rule oversteps legal authority and will weaken the firearms manufacturing industry.
Bailey is requesting it be withdrawn immediately.
“The proposed rule goes beyond the authority granted to the president and to the unelected bureaucrats in the BIS (DOC’s Bureau of Industry and Security),” Bailey wrote. “The rule will hurt our economy and it infringes on Second Amendment rights. As such, it should be promptly withdrawn.”