KXLF: Senator Tester questions State Dept rejecting sale of antique guns
Senator Jon Tester pushed the U.S. State Department to reconsider a decision denying the proposed sale of surplus firearms from South Korea to qualified buyers in the United States.
According to a news report, the State Department rejected South Korea’s proposal to sell its surplus of American-made M1 Carbines and M1 Garand rifles to the U.S. over concerns that they “could potentially be exploited by individuals seeking firearms for illicit purposes.”
Tester said that reasoning “doesn’t add up.”
“I count myself among many gun rights advocates who fundamentally disagree with the State Department’s reasoning,” Tester wrote to Clinton. “Rejecting the responsible sale of legal firearms over hypothetical concerns that they could be used for ‘illicit purposes’ sets a dangerous precedent and it is contrary to the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding Americans.”
M1s Carbines and M1 Garand rifles were introduced nearly a century ago and used by American forces in World War II, Korea and in Vietnam. Tester said the firearms-which are legal in the United States-will always be valued as collector’s items.
