With BATFE’s proposal to ban M855 ammo commonly used in the AR-15 now sitting idle following a strong public outcry, those intent on disarming law-abiding Americans are desperately looking for other ways to do so.
For gun-banners in Congress, that means introducing legislation that would ban not only M855 5.56x45 ammo, but virtually all rifle ammo used for hunting, sport shooting and self-defense.
A measure introduced by Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Calif., and co-sponsored by Rep. Steve Israel, D-N.Y., cuts a much wider swath than the BATFE proposal. It would, according to Israel, “extend the definition of armor-piercing ammunition to include all bullets that can pierce body armor and be used in handguns.”
Of course, single-shot hunting handguns have been made to shoot many popular cartridges over the past several years, including .243, .308, .270, .30-’06 and dozens of others. So Speier and Israel’s ban would basically outlaw all ammo in nearly every configuration in virtually every rifle caliber.
All the while, Speier and Israel are using the disingenuous excuse of protecting law-enforcement officers to justify their proposed widespread ban.
“America’s men and women in law enforcement must be safer and have better technology than the criminals who want to kill them,” Speier said in a news release. “It is unacceptable for them to be outgunned.”
Of course, we at the National Rifle Association are all for protecting law-enforcement officers. In fact, few organizations are more supportive of the law-enforcement community than the NRA.
But as NRA-ILA reports, “In the 38 years that the FBI has reported the caliber of handguns used to kill law-enforcement officers, no such crime has been committed with a handgun capable of firing M855 or any other .223 or 5.56 mm cartridge.”
Such a statistic leaves little doubt that the proposed ban has nothing to do with law enforcement safety, and everything to do with curtailing ammo availability for law-abiding American citizens—especially those who enjoy shooting AR-15-type rifles.
Interestingly, the demise of the BATFE M855 ban was followed closely by the resignation of Agency Director B. Todd Jones, who many believe botched the proposal. Still pushing for a ban, Jones told a U.S. Senate committee just two days after the proposal was dropped that any 5.56 ammo is “a challenge for officer safety.”
Apparently not confident his proposed legislation will be approved, Rep. Israel has already announced plans to meet with incoming BATFE Director Thomas Brandon to encourage the agency to revive the plan.
Of course, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that if ammo is banned, private firearm ownership is rendered virtually pointless. Don’t think that Speier, Israel and other gun-haters in Congress are unaware of that fact.
And don’t think that’s not the real reasoning behind their push for a ban on any ammunition they can.
