Newsletter: Winning the Fight Against a Bullet Ban

Statement

Dear Friends,

The Obama Administration's move to ban ammunition for the most popular rifle in America -- the AR-15 -- has been withdrawn.

After a public outcry that included more than 80,000 comments, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) dropped its proposal to ban M855 ammunition with a week left in the one-month comment period.

"You spoke, we listened," said ATF on Twitter.

The good news is ATF was chastened by their misreading of congressional intent in the 1986 Law Enforcement Officers Protection Act (LEOPA). The bad news is the agency promises further study, which could mean a revived ban proposal.

LEOPA includes provisions to keep armor-piercing bullets unavailable for handguns. Though ATF couldn't produce a single example of an M855 round being fired from a handgun at a police officer, they still proposed a ban on all M855 ammunition.

ATF also ignored a key protection of gun rights in LEOPA: The exemption of ammunition "primarily to be used for sporting purposes." That provision should be read broadly to include many legitimate uses, including target practice, hunting, organized and casual competition, training, skills development and instruction.

We must never forget that the Second Amendment wouldn't be much good if it only protected firearms and not ammunition.

As word of the ban spread, I joined House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte in writing ATF to express our serious concern. I was joined by 235 other members of the House; a similar letter was signed by 53 senators.

Widespread support for the Second Amendment hasn't stopped some Democrats, who propose a legislative ban of the M855 in the Armor Piercing Bullets Act. A more sweeping bill, the Modernized Law Enforcement Officers Protection Act, would ban even more forms of armor-piercing ammo.

Consequently, I'll be cosponsoring H.R. 1365, the Ammunition and Firearms Protection Act, which would stop ATF from issuing any future regulations to ban armor-piercing ammunition used in rifles.

As Thomas Jefferson said so well, "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms."

In the name of freedom, I will continue to oppose any infringement on the rights of law-abiding Americans to own firearms and ammunition.

Thank you,

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