A bill to eventually make more than 100,000 1911 pistols available for sale through the Civilian Marksmanship Program has passed the House of Representatives as part of the 2018 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
“Currently, the military has some 100,000 excess 1911s sitting in storage at taxpayer expense,” said Independent Program Attorney Edwin Walker of the Walker & Taylor law firm in Houston. “Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean Members will get to buy these guns anytime soon because they are still in the hands of the U.S. Army. The next step would be for the House and Senate versions of the Defense Appropriations legislation to go through resolution.”
Walker said that if the bill is passed, the Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) will be able to transfer these historical handguns to buyers the same way new guns are sold. Buyers will undergo background checks and stores would have to keep records of the transfers in-store. The pistols come with the original 7-round magazines.
Walker said, “The iconic handgun was developed because of the U.S. military’s need for a sidearm with more stopping power as evidenced by the difficulties in quelling the rebellious natives during the Philippine-American war. The M1911 came to prominence in World War I and remained the official, trusted, reliable pistol for the U.S. armed forces until it was phased out and replaced by the Berretta 92F in the mid-eighties.”
The CMP is a government-chartered program to teach firearms safety and shooting skills. CMP previously sold 1911 pistols until political pressure forced the agency to stop distributing handguns. —Texas & U.S. Law Shield Staff
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