NRA throws support behind Tester’s gun bill

(BIG SANDY, Mont.) – The National Rifle Association is throwing its support behind Senator Jon Tester’s new bill on antique gun re-importation and sales.

Chris W. Cox, executive director of the NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action, released the following statement in support of Tester’s Collectible Firearms Protection Act:

“Gun owners in Montana and across the country appreciate Sen. Tester's leadership on Second Amendment issues.  This legislation is a common sense solution to the State Department’s de facto gun ban, which preserves the Second Amendment freedoms we enjoy as Americans.”

Tester announced his Collectible Firearms Protection Act—available online HERE—after he pushed the U.S. State Department to reconsider a decision denying the proposed sale of surplus M1 Carbines and Garand rifles from South Korea to qualified buyers in the U.S.  Many collectors consider the firearms antiques.

Under Tester’s new 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.