BELLEVUE, WA – Barack Obama’s new strategy for attacking gun owners specifically targets collectors and competitors by blocking returns of surplus military rifles over six decades old, and reveals his extremist anti-gun attitude, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms said today.

The president’s new gun control measures, announced today by Vice President Joe Biden, will prevent the recovery of thousands of military-surplus M-1 Garand rifles that are valued by collectors, competitors and historic reenactors. These firearms were loaned or donated to South Korea decades ago.

“This is an outrage,” said CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb, “and the only people being hurt are law-abiding citizens. If there were any doubt about the level of anti-gun extremism in the Obama administration, this announcement just put those doubts to rest.”

There is pending legislation, H.R. 2247, the “Collectible Firearms Protection Act” sponsored by Rep. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) that would prevent this, he noted.

This new prohibition will have far-reaching effects on all kinds of curio and relic firearms. Such firearms have considerable historic significance and value to American firearms aficionados, and there is no evidence that such firearms have ever been favored by criminals.

“American gun owners can kiss goodbye any notions that they might see some moderate, reasonable movement on gun issues from this administration,” Gottlieb stated. “And Joe Biden is likely to have real trouble pandering himself as a reasonable gun owner when he decides to run for president in 2016, because gun owners will not forget his involvement in this prohibition.

“This ruling also sends a message to the firearms industry, and particularly importers, that this administration cannot be trusted,” he added. “The president is taking out his frustration for being unable to pass his gun control agenda, and the only people who will suffer are citizens who would never break the law with any of these firearms. Punishing innocent people may be the Chicago way, but it’s not the American way, or the way an American president ought to lead.”