Two senators and two representatives send a letter to the Commerce secretary.
Senators Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Dick Durbin of Illinois were joined by Representatives Joaquin Castro of Texas and Norma Torres of California in signing a letter requesting that the Department of Commerce extends the pause on assault weapons exports.
The Department of Commerce began a 90-day export in October to conduct a review of a policy change enacted under President Trump’s administration, which transferred the oversight of assault weapons exports from the Department of State to the Department of Commerce. This change decreased federal oversight of U.S. assault weapons purchased overseas.
The Commerce Department stated that the review will assess the “risk of firearms being diverted to entities or activities that promote regional instability, violate human rights, or fuel criminal activities.” The four legislators reemphasized the risk of selling assault weapons to foreign entities. They requested that the department finalize the review, bring the State Department back into the export application review process, and split the assault weapons trade category to distinguish between semiautomatic firearms and automatic weapons.
As the Lord Leads, Pray with Us…
- For Secretary Raimondo as she considers the request from U.S. legislators regarding the export pause.
- For Commerce Department officials as they assess the risks of selling weapons to foreign entities.
Sources: Department of Agriculture
