Now, S. 381—the Collectible Firearms Protection Act—sponsored by U.S. Senator Jon Tester (D-Mont.), and its House companion bill H.R. 615, sponsored U.S. Representative Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), seek to once again allow these American-made firearms to be re-imported and sold in the U.S.

NRA-ILA Executive Director Chris W. Cox made the following statement in support of the legislation:  “The importation restrictions on M1 rifles and carbines was a defacto gun ban.  These firearms are sought after by gun collectors as they are a part of America’s history.  They are also commonly used for lawful purposes such as hunting, sports shooting and self defense.  On behalf of the tens of millions of law-abiding American gun owners, I would like to thank these legislators for their leadership in presenting a legislative fix to this backdoor gun ban.”

“This is a common sense bill that is designed to allow law-abiding Americans to own a piece of history,” said Tester, Chairman of the Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus. “This is a simple issue of making sure that a government bureaucracy doesn’t stand in the way of our Second Amendment rights.”

Under the bill, firearms that are lawfully possessed by a foreign government—and that are more than 50 years old and considered antiques or relics—may be re-imported to properly licensed groups and sold without written permission from the U.S. Departments of State or Defense.

Copyright 2011, National Rifle Association of America, Institute for Legislative Action.
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