Two weeks ago the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms released a proposal banning commonly used AR-15 ammunition through executive action. The proposal was issued under the guise of law enforcement safety, with ATF officials saying the ban in necessary to protect officers from "armor piercing" AR-15 ammunition, should it be used in a handgun.
First, AR-15 ammunition isn't being used in handguns in the way ATF claims. Second, although any kind of ammunition used unlawfully against law enforcement officers is concerning, the specific AR-15 "green tip" ammunition ATF is trying to ban isn't being used against officers as ATF claims.
In fact, the executive director of the Fraternal Order of Police James Pasco told the Washington Examiner yesterday there is no history of criminals using the type of ammunition in question.
"Any ammunition is of concern to police in the wrong hands, but this specific round has historically not posed a law enforcement problem," Pasco said to the Examiner.
Last night Executive Director of NRA-ILA Chris Cox made an appearance on The Kelly File to discuss the next step in fighting the ban.
"The President tried to ban the most popular rifle in America but he couldn't get it through Congress so now he's trying to ban the ammunition for the most popular rifle," Cox said."It's interesting that they're lying on this because there's no national cop group that's calling for this ban. The head of the National Fraternal Order of Police said that this wasn't necessary. The reason it's necessary is not one police officer has died a result of vest penetration from one of these rounds being fired from a handgun in the last 30 years, since ATF exempted this ammo. So why are they doing it? This is a solution not to a problem, it's a solution to Barack Obama's gun control problem. He couldn't get it through Congress so he'd doing it backdoor."
"The five million members of the National Rifle Association are going to fight this every step of the way," Cox promised.
The White House has argued this ban in necessary to protect men and women in law enforcement and has hinted President Obama will use executive action to get the ban implemented.
ATF is taking public comments about the ban through March 16, 2015. You can get in touch with them here:
-Email: APAComments@atf.gov
-Fax: 202) 648-9741
-Snail mail: Denise Brown, Mailstop 6N-602, Office of Regulatory Affairs, Enforcement Programs and Services, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, 99 New York Avenue, NE, Washington, DC 20226: ATTN: AP Ammo Comments