what happened to the m1 garands from south korea
One fashion to look at a 60-year-old, battle-worn M1 U.South. service rifle is as a cherished historical relic unfit for whatsoever duty more than rigorous than color guard. Another way is as a military-form firearm likely to be snatched upward past street toughs and used for common crime. Over the past half dozen years, the Obama assistants has seen the gun both ways, leading to a saga that has incensed legislators and gun collectors alike.
Helpfully for the executive co-operative, Republican Rep. Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming filed the "Collectible Firearms Protection Human action" last month. While Lummis's bill sounds broad-ranging, it actually targets a strange and singular quandary that'southward given the State Department fits since 2009: What to do with almost a one thousand thousand vintage, American-made M1 Garand and Carbine rifles now moldering in the arsenals of their custodian, South Korea.
"Legislation shouldn't fifty-fifty be needed for U.Southward. citizens to purchase perfectly legal and regulated firearms, particularly in this instance, with storied, American-fabricated rifles that are pieces of U.S. military machine history," Rep. Lummis said in a statement. In fact, legislation wouldn't be necessary if President Obama were okay with the buy, which in this case, his administration was in favor of. Until it wasn't.
During the Common cold War, the U.S. provided hundreds of thousands of M1 rifles to Due south Korea, which used them for 50 years earlier deciding to upgrade. To defray this cost, the Korean government wants to sell the M1s to American citizens. This involves not a trivial scrap of chutzpah on the function of the Koreans, considering that virtually, if non all of the rifles, were gifts from America. U.S. collectors don't seem to listen — they're desperate to purchase the guns. The .30-quotient, semiautomatic M1 Garand was the standard-issue American service rifle from 1936 through 1957 — that is, during WWII — so while M1s have long since passed into armed services obsolescence, their value as collectibles has expanded with every new D-Twenty-four hours–themed moving-picture show, miniseries, and Ken Burns special. Today, most of the M1s that are however available in the U.S. accept had multiple components replaced or are otherwise adulterated. But the rare M1 Garand that only has well-nigh of its original parts can easily command $iv,000 or more. Which means that the M1s that South korea is sitting on corporeality to a golden mine.
And the South Koreans know information technology. Back in 2007, the state began the tedious process of asking permission to send the M1s dorsum to their motherland for sale on the U.Due south. private marketplace. A patchwork of '50s- and '70s-era laws (originally meant to shield U.Due south. small-arms makers from strange contest) prohibits reimport of U.South.-made military firearms unless they're being sold to the U.S. armed forces or a police enforcement bureau, or if the weapons are l or more years old. (Note: This applies only to pocket-sized arms. If you tin can get the permits, you can buy a Sherman tank.) The M1s authorize nether the second criteria, but when the import conditions are met, the State Department still has to corroborate the venture. Those final decisions can have major implications; President Reagan'due south blessing of a $13 million sale of 200,000 M1s to a U.S. gun shop has been cited by the Washington Post as sparking civilian America's dearest matter with set on weapons.
In 2009, the executive co-operative was fine with the Korean arms plan, simply it changed its heed in early on in 2010, citing concerns that the guns could "be exploited by individuals seeking firearms for illicit purposes." In 2011, the Land Section reportedly began negotiations to import 86,000 South Korea–held Garands — but non the carbines, which can accept a bigger magazine — and the Korean press announced this as a washed bargain.
But in August 2013, Obama reversed course over again. With an executive gild banning reimportation of the M1s, the president publicly embraced the statement that an infusion of 10-pound, 3-and-a-half-pes-long, lx-twelvemonth-sometime wooden rifles could endanger American citizens. "This new policy volition help go on military-class firearms off our streets," read a news release. With a single stroke, Obama scribbled out all previous strokes and ended the dream of a one thousand thousand old-withal-new M1 rifles entering the U.S. marketplace.
The State Department declined to annotate for this article, citing Lummis'south awaiting legislation.
Lawmakers accept fought back to no avail. Back in 2011, Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky launched an online survey to tally outrage over "President Obama'south Meg Rifle Ban," which conveniently provided Sen. Paul with respondents' contact data for future communiqués. And in June, Rep. Lummis filed her "Collectible Firearms Protection Act" — again. She'southward submitted identical bills three times earlier, just while prior incarnations garnered bipartisan support and matching Senate legislation, all died in committee.
Rep. Lummis, in a statement provided to The Trace, says, "This is but a political stunt on the part of the Country Department to deny constabulary-constant citizens, firearm collectors, and competitive marksmen the practise of their 2d Amendment rights. The Country Department has no business blocking domestic firearm buying, and my bill volition make sure it stops."
Maybe, but not while the Obama administration has fabricated up its listen. For the fourth dimension being, the saga of the M1 rifle isn't anywhere near its end.
[Photo: Library of Congress]
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Source: https://www.thetrace.org/2015/07/m1-rifle-antique-south-korea-import/
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