[jvanderbot]

Among my many random roles in my job, I do export technical licensing review. I can assure you the industry practices on ITAR have only tightened in recent years, and the only language clarifications that have affected my review policies are over 4 years old.

Small arms researchers and manufacturers who are inside the US should not be affected by ITAR nearly at all. The only restriction ITAR / EAR places on a US company is to not sell or share technical assistance (any kind of design, etc) with any foreign persons (which includes public disclosure).

What he may have done is change the classification of certain small arms technologies. But that does not affect the "ITAR" process or its "looseness".