Obama Forbids Sale of 850,000 Antique Rifles

Obama Forbids Sale of 850,000 Antique Rifles To US Citizens

Fox News
Fox News

Washington, DC –-(Ammoland.com)- The South Korean government, in an effort to raise money for its military, wants to sell nearly a million antique M1 rifles that were used by U.S. soldiers in the Korean War to gun collectors in America.

The Obama administration approved the sale of the American-made rifles last year. But it reversed course and banned the sale in March – a decision that went largely unnoticed at the time but that is now sparking opposition from gun rights advocates.

A State Department spokesman said the administration’s decision was based on concerns that the guns could fall into the wrong hands.

“The transfer of such a large number of weapons — 87,310 M1 Garands and 770,160 M1 Carbines — could potentially be exploited by individuals seeking firearms for illicit purposes,” the spokesman told FoxNews.com.

“We are working closely with our Korean allies and the U.S. Army in exploring alternative options to dispose of these firearms.”

“It seems to have this implication of destruction, which would be tremendously wasteful,” he said. “These are guns that should be in the hands of American citizens for marksmanship and safety training.”

Asked whether melting the guns down would be a good option, Henigan said: “Why let them into the country in the first place? If there is a legally sufficient way to keep them out, we think it’s perfectly reasonable to do so.”

“M1s are used for target practice. For history buffs, they’re highly collectible. We’re going to continue to make sure that this backdoor effort that infringes not only on lawful commerce but on the Second Amendment is rectified.”

Henigan disagrees. “They clearly were used as military guns, and the fact that they likely can take high-capacity magazines makes them a special safety concern,” he said.

The White House referred questions on the issue to the Pentagon, which referred questions to the U.S. Embassy in South Korea, which deferred back to the State Department.

Read the complete article here:

ACTION: Contact your congressman & senator and demand they allow the sale of US guns back to US citizens. Visit: www.nraila.org

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Wild Bill

Hey E.G.T. , of course you are aware that this thread is five years old, and the article even older. Come to the Wannenmacher Tulsa gun show and I will sell you a nice Garand.

E. Gore Tully

The Civilian Marksmanship Program would benefit with this acquisition. The revenue obtained from the sale of these curio and relic firearms would be used to teach our youth weapon safety and promote the target shooting sports. Its been many years since this large an inventory of m-1 garands and m-1 carbines has been available to the public. \ Only collectors, C.M.P. competitors and people that are members of approved gun clubs would be able to buy these desirable firearms. Criminals have access to much more modern and sophisticated firearms than these. It seems to me that if President Obama could… Read more »

robert krawiec

Attn U.S. government: The M-1 has a 8 rd capacity, all the politicians are trying to get a 10 rd. capacity bill passed. This rifle is Clinton legal.The government has a program called the DCM which uses this rifle. Surplus ammo is readily available for this firearm.This gun is bulky and heavy, not likely to be used by gangs and it is 60 years old. The DCM could sell these rifles, which they already do,in its program , which already exists, and preserve these historic rifles for marksmanship training.

Jeff Close

"They clearly were used as military guns"

Yeah? So was the Brown Bess but I don't imagine they're used in drive by shootings.

Don Cordell

In 1946 the Army insisted I know how to shoot the M1, to defend America, are we forbiden to defend America now?

Jacquelyn Stevens

My opinion of Ohblowme is not printable other than to say he is a communist in democrat clothes

ray

no infringement get it NO infringement on the Right to bear Arms

bill-tb

Fruit cakes come in all size cups, especially when you are dealing with the Obama regime. These are way past their prime WWII era weapons, and in case they don't know, it was a war our 57 States fought in the early 1940s.

rob

Since when does the 8 round clip for the M-1 Garand equal a "high-capacity magazine"?