Washington D.C. – The U.S. State Department recently published regulatory guidance which may require small to medium-sized gunsmithing operations and other firearms hobbyists to pay hefty annual registration fees of more than $2,000.

In a letter to Secretary of State John Kerry, led by U.S. Senator Steve Daines, R-Mont., U.S. Representative Steve Scalise, R- La. and signed by U.S. Senators Mike Enzi, John Barrasso, both R-Wyo., as well as 21 other senators and more than 100 representatives, the lawmakers called on the Administration to rescind the plan immediately.

The legislators believe the State Department policy guidance expansion of existing International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) and Arms Export Control Act (AECA) will have serious and negative consequences on hundreds of thousands of small and medium-sized gunsmithing operations all over the country. They said the expanded regulation was, “wholly unnecessary and nonsensical.”

“Not only does the guidance expand registration to gunsmiths who do not "manufacture" firearms, it also runs counter to the intent of AECA and ITAR, which are meant to control the production and exportation of military material, not the domestic repair or maintenance of a legal, common, and Constitutionally-protected product.,” the lawmakers wrote. “We believe the guidance effectively expands ITAR registration requirements and should be rescinded immediately.”

The full text of the U.S. Senate letter is available for download HERE, the U.S. House of Representatives letter is available for download HERE.

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