Around these parts, compiance with 922r is a concern for many of us. But where did it come from?

Popular lore says that George HW Bush signed an Executive order in March 1989. this m14 article claims that  "The Presidential Executive Order import ban of March 1989 affected the Chinese M14 rifles brought into the United States."

But I have no idea were to find this executive order. Here are the executive orders from March 1989:

source Executive Order 12670 Nuclear Cooperation Wth EURATOM    * Signed: March 9, 1989 Executive Order 12671 Exclusion of the Customs Office of Enforcement from the Federal Labor-Management Relations Program    * Signed: March 14, 1989 Executive Order 12672 Interagency Committee on Handicapped Employees    * Signed: March 21, 1989 Executive Order 12673 Delegation of disaster relief and emergency assistance functions    * Signed: March 23, 1989

You can also find the texts of the orders.


Here is another bit I came across. An article at brownells.com claims

1989 Import Ban In 1989, then President George signed an Executive Order halting the importation of semi-automatic rifles that could not meet certain "sporting" criteria into the U.S. That ban was later made into law in on November 30, 1990 and later amended in 1993. The section is 18 USC Chapter 44, subsection 178.39 and is entitled Assembly of semiautomatic rifles and shotguns. This provision of the law was made to close a supposed loophole that allowed people to assemble a banned rifle or shotgun from parts.

I dont think there IS a subsection 178.39 in 18 USC Chapter 44. Either way, I can't confirm that congress did ANYTHING on 30 Nov 1990. The Congressional Record of the 101st congress at thomase.loc.gov only has details for 2 Nov 1990.


The relevant sections of 18 USC Ch 44 are 922r

(r) It shall be unlawful for any person to assemble from imported parts any semiautomatic rifle or any shotgun which is identical to any rifle or shotgun prohibited from importation under section 925 (d)(3) of this chapter as not being particularly suitable for or readily adaptable to sporting purposes except that this subsection shall not apply to— (1) the assembly of any such rifle or shotgun for sale or distribution by a licensed manufacturer to the United States or any department or agency thereof or to any State or any department, agency, or political subdivision thereof; or (2) the assembly of any such rifle or shotgun for the purposes of testing or experimentation authorized by the Attorney General.

which refers to 18 USC Chapter 44 Section 925 (d)(3)

(d) The Attorney General shall authorize a firearm or ammunition to be imported or brought into the United States or any possession thereof if the firearm or ammunition— ... (3) is of a type that does not fall within the definition of a firearm as defined in section 5845(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and is generally recognized as particularly suitable for or readily adaptable to sporting purposes, excluding surplus military firearms, except in any case where the Attorney General has not authorized the importation of the firearm pursuant to this paragraph, it shall be unlawful to import any frame, receiver, or barrel of such firearm which would be prohibited if assembled;

Oh, great. so wtf is section 5845(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986? a "Definitions" section, it seems.

Sec. 5845. Definitions      For the purpose of this chapter -    (a) Firearm      The term ''firearm'' means (1) a shotgun having a barrel or    barrels of less than 18 inches in length; (2) a weapon made from a    shotgun if such weapon as modified has an overall length of less    than 26 inches or a barrel or barrels of less than 18 inches in    length; (3) a rifle having a barrel or barrels of less than 16    inches in length; (4) a weapon made from a rifle if such weapon as    modified has an overall length of less than 26 inches or a barrel    or barrels of less than 16 inches in length; (5) any other weapon,    as defined in subsection (e); (6) a machinegun; (7) any silencer    (as defined in section 921 of title 18, United States Code); and    (8) a destructive device.  The term ''firearm'' shall not include    an antique firearm or any device (other than a machinegun or    destructive device) which, although designed as a weapon, the    Secretary finds by reason of the date of its manufacture, value,    design, and other characteristics is primarily a collector's item    and is not likely to be used as a weapon.

I think the Important part of 922r is that the Attorney General is only able to allow import of firearms that are “generally recognized as particularly suitable for or readily adaptable to sporting purposes”. I don’t know how this became law, but no Executive Order or law defines what a sporting purpose is, from what I can tell.

178.39 may refer to the
Code of Federal Regulations
Title 27, Volume 1, Parts 1 to 199
Revised as of April 1, 1999

Page 941 Sec. 178.39  Assembly of semiautomatic rifles or shotguns.    (a) No person shall assemble a semiautomatic rifle or any shotgun using more than 10 of the imported parts listed in paragraph (c) of this section if the assembled firearm is prohibited from importation under section 925(d)(3) as not being particularly suitable for or readily adaptable to sporting purposes.    (b) The provisions of this section shall not apply to:    (1) The assembly of such rifle or shotgun for sale or distribution by a licensed manufacturer to the United States or any department or agency thereof or to any State or any department, agency, or political subdivision thereof; or    (2) The assembly of such rifle or shotgun for the purposes of testing or experimentation authorized by the Director under the provisions of Sec. 178.151; or    (3) The repair of any rifle or shotgun which had been imported into or assembled in the United States prior to November 30, 1990, or the replacement of any part of such firearm.    (c) For purposes of this section, the term imported parts are: (1) Frames, receivers, receiver castings, forgings or stampings (2) Barrels (3) Barrel extensions (4) Mounting blocks (trunions) (5) Muzzle attachments (6) Bolts (7) Bolt carriers (8) Operating rods (9) Gas pistons (10) Trigger housings (11) Triggers (12) Hammers (13) Sears (14) Disconnectors (15) Buttstocks (16) Pistol grips (17) Forearms, handguards (18) Magazine bodies (19) Followers (20) Floorplates T.D. ATF-346, 58 FR 40589, July 29, 1993

That July 29, 1993 bit at the end indicates that the original brownell article isn't too far off the "later amended in 1993". Does the “T.D. ATF” number indicate that this is simply an ATF ruling?

I think the 178.39 is an obsolete number, anyhow. According to this ATF letter about the AWB sunset:
[quote=the ATF] The provisions of 18 U.S.C. section 922(r) and 27 CFR 478.39 regarding assembly of nonsporting shotguns and semiautomatic rifles from imported parts still apply.

and 27 CFR 478.39 seems to be the new number, as of 2005.

gpoaccess.gov indicates that the Code of Federal Regulations is “The codification of the general and permanent rules published in the Federal Register by the executive departments and agencies of the Federal Government.”

So I’m not sure how the ‘non-sporting’ provision got into us code, but I think the definition of ‘non-sporting’ was just made up by the ATF…

Its Bush's fault!  Damn....this time it really is.  

THE FIRST IMPORT BAN WAS  IN  1968

ALL NFA BANNED FROM IMPORTATION  MACHINE GUNS, SILENCERS , SBR , SBS , DD ALL , AOWS ,

CERTAIN military rifles ( AMENDED IN 1984)

A whole bunch of handguns still can't GET glock 25 380 here unless someone stationed (military) lets say in germany buy's one there and brings it back.AND yes it is legal to do that .

THE 1968 GUN CONTROL ACT

Our nation's primary gun law is the 1968 Gun Control Act, passed in the wake of the murders of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Senator Robert Kennedy.

Major Provisions:

   *

     Established categories of prohibited firearms purchasers and possessors.
     Convicted felons, fugitives from justice, illegal drug users or addicts, minors, anyone adjudicated mentally defective or having been committed to a mental institution, anyone dishonorably discharged from the military, illegal aliens, anyone having renounced U.S. citizenship.
   *

     Licenses and set standards for gun dealers.
     Establishes licensing fee schedule for manufacturers, importers, and dealers in firearms; sets record-keeping standards; requires licenses to be obtained from the Secretary of the Treasury; requires serial numbers on all guns.
   *

     Prohibits the mail-order sales of all firearms and ammunition.
   *

     Prohibits the interstate sale of firearms.
     A handgun purchaser may only buy a gun in the state in which he/she resides; however, long gun sales to individuals in contiguous state that did not violate either state law, were allowed. (Today, long guns may be purchased from gun dealers in any state, regardless of purchaser's state of residence). there are exceptions
   *

     Sets age guidelines for firearms purchased through dealers.

     — Handgun purchasers must be at least 21.
     — Long gun purchasers must be at least 18.
   *

     Prohibits the importation of non-sporting weapons.
     The importation of "Saturday Night Special" handguns and some semiautomatic assault rifles (the 43 weapons covered in the 1989 Bush Administration ban) as well as two military shotguns have been barred under this section of the law.
   *

     Sets penalties for carrying & using firearms in crimes of violence or drug trafficking.
   *

     Prohibits importation of weapons covered in the National Firearms Act and extends NFA restrictions to machine gun frames and receivers and conversion kits (i.e., parts to make machine guns).
   *

     Prohibits importation of foreign-made military surplus firearms.
   *

     Prohibited the sale and manufacture of new fully automatic civilian machine guns (effectively freezing the number of them in circulation).
     This provision was adamantly opposed by the NRA. In fact, some of its most radical members did not want the McClure/Volkmer bill to pass if it contained this provision.

     Immediately following the enactment of this law, the NRA announced that "its highest priority" in the next Congress would be to repeal the ban on machine guns. To date they have not introduced legislation to do this.
   *

     Prohibited the sale of parts or "conversion kits" - used to make semiautomatic firearms fully automatic.
   *

     Classifies silencer parts and kits as weapons falling under the National Firearm Act.

I believe IMPORTS will get hit again.
IF they are unable to pass further gun legislation on the federal level .Domestic made firearms  ..

There was no official Executive Order.  The 1968 GCA introduced the notion of "sporting purposes" and gave the Secretary the authority to control this clause.  Bush directed the head of the ATF to do a report on the importability of certain firearms, which was later drafted into the Code of Federal Regulations to include the list of "non-sporting" imports.  Congress provided the authority under the 1968 law, so there didn't need to be an official Executive Order.

There is no definition of "sporting" in the actual law.  The definition was developed in the report from ATF:

ATF Report

Quoted: There was no official Executive Order.  The 1968 GCA introduced the notion of "sporting purposes" and gave the Secretary the authority to control this clause.  Bush directed the head of the ATF to do a report on the importability of certain firearms, which was later drafted into the Code of Federal Regulations to include the list of "non-sporting" imports.  Congress provided the authority under the 1968 law, so there didn't need to be an official Executive Order. There is no definition of "sporting" in the actual law.  The definition was developed in the report from ATF: ATF Report

No Executive Order  but first of import gun bans.  1968 import law needs to be over turned !