East Idaho Times

U.S. Senator Jim Risch of Idaho has introduced the Sporting Firearms Access Act, aiming to prevent the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) from denying firearm and ammunition imports arbitrarily. The proposed legislation seeks to clarify the definition of "sporting purposes" under the Gun Control Act of 1968, a term used by the ATF to regulate firearm imports into the United States.

According to Risch, ambiguity in current law allows the ATF to block firearm imports by U.S. customers and businesses without clear justification. He stated, "The ATF will stop at nothing to put a chokehold on law-abiding gun owners’ Second Amendment rights. Barring the import of firearms for legal sporting activities is bureaucratic red tape at its finest."

Risch's bill is co-sponsored by several other Republican senators including Mike Crapo, Cynthia Lummis, Bill Cassidy, Rick Scott, John Cornyn, Steve Daines, Roger Wicker, Roger Marshall, Tim Sheehy, Thom Tillis, Pete Ricketts, and Ted Budd. The legislation aims to ensure that firearms used for hunting, target shooting, and competitions are recognized as suitable for importation.

The Sporting Firearms Access Act would prevent the ATF from rejecting items substantially similar to those already available in the U.S., mandate collaboration with the firearms industry on determining suitability for sporting purposes, and establish an appeals process for wrongful determinations along with judicial review options.

Support for this bill comes from organizations like the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) and the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF). Jeff Crane of CSF remarked on its importance: “Many of the preferred firearms used by sportsmen and women across the country are imported from other countries for use in hunting and recreational shooting.”

Lawrence G. Keane from NSSF emphasized that this legislation would bring clarity to existing laws: “Senator Risch’s legislation will ensure that bureaucratic interpretations of the law cannot arbitrarily deny Americans of the ability to legally obtain imported firearms and ammunition for what are clearly sporting purposes.”