[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1997, Book II)]
[November 14, 1997]
[Pages 1575-1576]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Memorandum on Importation of Modified Semiautomatic Assault-Type Rifles
November 14, 1997

Memorandum for the Secretary of the Treasury

Subject: Importation of Modified Semiautomatic Assault-Type Rifles

    The Gun Control Act of 1968 restricts the importation of firearms 
unless they are determined to be particularly suitable for or readily 
adaptable to sporting purposes. In 1989, the Department of the Treasury 
(the Department) conducted a review of existing criteria for applying 
the statutory test based on changing patterns of gun use. As a result of 
that review, 43 assault-type rifles were specifically banned from 
importation. However, manufacturers have modified many of those weapons 
banned in 1989 to remove certain military features without changing 
their essential operational mechanism. Examples of such weapons are the 
Galil and the Uzi.
    In recent weeks Members of Congress have strongly urged that it is 
again necessary to review the manner in which the Department is applying 
the sporting purposes test, in order to ensure that the agency's 
practice is consistent with the statute and current patterns of gun use. 
A letter signed by 30 Senators strongly urged that modified assault-type 
weapons are not properly importable under the statute and that I should 
use my authority to suspend temporarily their importation while the 
Department conducts an intensive, expedited review. A recent letter from 
Senator Dianne Feinstein emphasized again that weapons of this type are 
designed not for sporting purposes but for the commission of crime. In 
addition, 34 Members of the House of Representatives signed a letter to 
Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu requesting that he intervene 
to stop all sales of Galils and Uzis into the United States. These 
concerns have caused the Government of Israel to announce a temporary 
moratorium on the exportation of Galils and Uzis so that the United 
States can review the importability of these weapons under the Gun 
Control Act.
    The number of weapons at issue underscores the potential threat to 
the public health and safety that necessitates immediate action. 
Firearms importers have obtained permits to import nearly 600,000 
modified assault-type rifles. In addition, there are pending before the 
Department applications to import more than 1 million

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additional such weapons. The number of rifles covered by outstanding 
permits is comparable to that which existed in 1989 when the Bush 
Administration temporarily suspended import permits for assault-type 
rifles. The number of weapons for which permits for importation are 
being sought through pending applications is approximately 10 times 
greater than in 1989. The number of such firearms for which import 
applications have been filed has skyrocketed from 10,000 on October 9, 
1997, to more than 1 million today.
    My Administration is committed to enforcing the statutory 
restrictions on importation of firearms that do not meet the sporting 
purposes test. It is necessary that we ensure that the statute is being 
correctly applied and that the current use of these modified weapons is 
consistent with the statute's criteria for importability. This review 
should be conducted at once on an expedited basis. The review is 
directed to weapons such as the Uzi and Galil that failed to meet the 
sporting purposes test in 1989, but were later found importable when 
certain military features were removed. The results of this review 
should be applied to all pending and future applications.
    The existence of outstanding permits for nearly 600,000 modified 
assault-type rifles threatens to defeat the purpose of the expedited 
review unless, as in 1989, the Department temporarily suspends such 
permits. Importers typically obtain authorization to import firearms in 
far greater numbers than are actually imported into the United States. 
However, gun importers could effectively negate the impact of any 
Department determination by simply importing weapons to the maximum 
amount allowed by their permits. The public health and safety require 
that the only firearms allowed into the United States are those that 
meet the criteria of the statute.
    Accordingly, as we discussed, you will:
    1) Conduct an immediate expedited review not to exceed 120 days in 
length to determine whether modified semiautomatic assault-type rifles 
are properly importable under the statutory sporting purposes test. The 
results of this review will govern action on pending and future 
applications for import permits, which shall not be acted upon until the 
completion of this review.
    2) Suspend outstanding permits for importation of modified 
semiautomatic assault-type rifles for the duration of the 120-day review 
period. The temporary suspension does not constitute a permanent 
revocation of any license. Permits will be revoked only if and to the 
extent that you determine that a particular weapon does not satisfy the 
statutory test for importation, and only after an affected importer has 
an opportunity to make its case to the Department.

                                                      William J. Clinton

Note: This memorandum was made available by the Office of the Press 
Secretary on November 14 but was embargoed for release until 10:06 a.m. 
on November 15.