The Clinton administration on Friday imposed an immediate ban on the importation of semiautomatic assault-type weapons until the government decides whether they have been modified to skirt U.S. restrictions on foreign-made firearms that are not suitable for "sporting purposes."
The order, signed by President Clinton, calls for the Treasury Department's Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms to suspend for a maximum of 120 days the importation of up to 600,000 military-style weapons that have already been approved for entry into the country.
The directive also orders the Treasury Department to temporarily suspend acting on pending requests for the importation of more than 1 million additional modified semiautomatic assault weapons, according to a copy of the order obtained by The Times.
Clinton said in his directive that requests for applications from gun importers had "skyrocketed" since Oct. 9, when there were only 10,000 requests on file.
"The number of weapons at issue underscores the potential threat to the public health and safety that necessitates immediate action," Clinton said in his directive to Treasury Secretary Robert E. Rubin.
Clinton plans to announce the temporary ban--which is certain to draw fierce criticism from the gun lobby--during his radio address today.
The text of the radio address was initially embargoed by the White House but then released Friday night. In it, Clinton said, "You don't need an Uzi to go deer hunting, and everyone knows it.
"As effective as the assault-weapons ban has been, we know that some foreign gun manufacturers are getting around the ban by making minor modifications to their weapons that amount to nothing more than cosmetic surgery.
"We didn't fight as hard as we have--to pass the assault-weapons [ban] in the first place--only to let a few gun manufacturers sidestep our laws and undermine our progress."
Clinton's order substantially widens a proposed directive the White House was considering three weeks ago. That proposal would only have covered future requests from gun importers, and would have allowed gun shipments that had already been approved to come in, including modified Uzis and Galils from Israel.
Earlier this week, the administration was surprised to learn that the ATF had already approved the importation of 600,000 weapons. While importers don't often bring in as many weapons as authorized, that revelation appeared to be a factor in issuing the directive.
