WASHINGTON, DC – After receiving more than 80,000 mostly-negative comments about the proposed rule to ban common 5.56x45mm surplus ammunition, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) announced today that they are not planning on issuing a final framework for the proposed rule.
Although the idea of banning one of the most common bullets in America should never have been considered in the first place, this is a big win for shooters, hunters, and Second Amendment advocates everywhere.
The ban, initially proposed in reaction to the rise of rifle-caliber AR-15 pistols, would have undone a long-standing exemption of common surplus ammunition from rules prohibiting armor-piercing ammunition. The exemption was made at a time when AR-15 pistols were not widely produced commercially.
Earlier in the day 53 Senate Republicans wrote to the ATF, “Second Amendment rights require not only access to firearms, but to bullets.”
“If law-abiding gun owners cannot obtain rifle ammunition, or face substantial difficulty in finding ammunition available and at reasonable prices because government entities are banning such ammunition, then the Second Amendment is at risk,”
Although anti-Second Amendment groups generally advocate for the outright ban of specific firearms, often demonstrating their lack of understanding about specific cosmetic features, the attack on inexpensive ammunition is a more insidious attack on gun culture as a whole. By raising the price and choking off supplies of ammunition, Democrats hope to ensure that only rich, upper class individuals will be able to engage in shooting sports. In their minds, pricing middle and lower class shooters out of the market means that people will be unable to afford ammunition and are less likely to practice their skills or pass on their knowledge and passion to new generations.
The ban was proposed under the auspices of protecting police officers, as common surplus ammunition is made with a steel tip that can penetrate body armor. However, this rationale seemed disingenuous not only because there is no record of any police officers killed by an AR-15 pistol using surplus ammunition, but also because any standard all-lead round is just as capable of punching through the standard types of armors worn by police.
To all my fellow shooters out there: this is a wakeup call that we need to continue introducing as many people as possible to shooting sports.
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