The STOP the BIS Act: Sen. Mike Lee’s pushback against federal firearm regulations

Utah Sen. Mike Lee secured the Trump bag on Friday. Photo: Senator Mike Lee

WASHINGTON– Utah Senator Mike Lee has recently proposed legislation aimed at safeguarding the rights of Gun Shop proprietors, emphasizing his intent to “preserve the second amendment.”

The bill, titled the Stop the Bureaucratic Ineptitude Shuttering Respectable and Upstanding Lawful Exporters Act, or the STOP the BIS Act, would outlaw the use of federal funds to finalize, implement, or enforce an interim rule implemented by the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS).

The BIS’s new rule, effective April 30, 2024, aims to tighten control over firearms and related items. It includes identifying semi-automatic firearms with new export codes, adding more license requirements for crime control items, adjusting license review policies, updating support documentation requirements, and considering import documentation from other countries for items authorized under BIS exceptions.

The new rules comes as an amendment on the Export Administration Regulations, and it specifically revises license requirements and review policies of gun shops exporting weapons out of the U.S.

Sen. Lee believes that the new rules infringes on the second amendment rights of Americans.

“Time and again, American gun exporters and small businesses jump through hoops imposed by this administration, only to find those standards arbitrarily changed,” said Sen. Lee.

“This rule is a strategic attempt to undermine an entire industry. We must challenge the Biden administration’s relentless assault on the Second Amendment and defend the rights of our small business owners.”

If passed in Congress, Sen. Lee’s bill would directly prohibit the obligation or expenditure of federal funds to enforce the BIS’s interim rule.

Congressman Mark Green, a Republican from Tennessee, introduced companion legislation in the House of Representatives.

Rep. Green is in agreement with Sen. Lee and believes the BIS’s interim rule constitutes government overreach and infringes on Americans rights.

“The Biden BIS has gone rogue. BIS’s new rule on gun exports will make it nearly impossible for many gun shop owners to make a living,” said Rep. Green.

“This rule punishes law-abiding business owners all because of the left’s antipathy for the Second Amendment. Our Founders warned against this kind of sweeping government overreach.”