ATF Fails to Ban Common Ammo Type

In what is widely considered to be a conservative victory, the ATF opted against banning a type of ammo commonly used in AR-15 rifles. The ATF began seeking to ban this type of ammo based on President Obama’s request. Although the 5.56 M855 “green tip” ammo in question can penetrate the body armor used by police, there is not one known instance of it being used to do that. Criminals generally use handguns that they can conceal, run from the police with, or inconspicuously dispose of. Rifles and shotguns are very, very rarely used in crimes. Thousands of comments left on the ATF’s website linked to a variety of studies saying the same thing.

A majority of both senators and congressmen opposed the ban on the grounds that it was an affront to the second amendment, and that it was innapropriate for the president to propose and institute such a ban without the consent of congress. Senator Grassley, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, wrote, “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.”

Groups like the NRA and other gun rights lobbies were quick to voice opposition to the bill, which they said was a back-door approach to banning any gun that looks scary. The wording of the proposed bill would have opened the door for other common types of bullets to be banned, which would render guns useless. A rifle gun without proper, accessible amunition is good for nothing, unless you want to club the animal you’re hunting.