S-47, the DeConcini gun bill passes the senate judiciary committee

Shooting Industry, Sept, 1989 by Jim Schneider

Barred from importation by the administration order are: (See the accompanying list.)

The seven that had been temporarily banned but are now approved for import include: AK22 type; AP74 type; Galil22 type; M16/22 type; Unique F11 type; Erma EM1.22 type; and the Valmet Hunter.

In its fact sheet released on July 7, BATF claimed that the "legislative history (of the 1968 Gun Control Act) indicates the term 'sporting purposes' refers to traditional sports such as target shooting, skeet and trap shooting and hunting."

It further insisted that there is "nothing in the law to indicate that the term 'sporting purposes' was intended to recognize every conceivable type of activity or competition which might employ a firearm."

BATF went on to establish its own definition of "assault rifles" based on criteria that include: military appearance. large-capacity magazine and semiautomatic version of a machinegun. The decision to make much of the import ban permanent certainly was not unexpected.