U.S. Army has selected the SIG SAUER P320 to replace the M9 service pistol which has been in use since the mid-1980’s. Beretta has delivered over 600,000 M-9 pistols.

What will become of these elderly veterans? Hundreds of thousands of Beretta M-9 pistols are suddenly excess to military requirements and deserve a better fate than industrial destruction.

The Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) is  a federally chartered 501(c)(3) corporation dedicated to training and educating U. S. citizens in responsible use of firearms through gun safety training, marksmanship training and competitions.

For decades, CMP has offered citizens opportunities to buy service rifles such as the M-1 Garrand and M-1 Carbine and at one time M-1911 pistols.

With minor changes in existing law, Congress could allow the CMP to once again sell handguns.  The M-9’s (and even 1911’s) could be transferred to CMP and sold to qualified American citizens, continuing to serve, teaching new generations of Americans to shoot safely and well.

In the words of the poet, “I believe the children are our future.”  Ask your Congresspeople to save the cost of destruction (yes, your government now pays to have guns destroyed) and provide excess Department of Defense guns to the Civilian Marksmanship Program.

We have only begun to reap the benefits of the gun vote in 2016.

Photo courtesy of fas.org