The Obama administration is seeking to use regulation to bring about the type of gun control Congress refuses to pass.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has released new guidelines, open to comment from the public, that will seek to ban one of the most popular types of ammunition used by owners of the AR-15. According to the argument put forward by the ATF, the M885 rounds used in AR-15 rifles are a danger to police if fired from a handgun and therefore should be banned.
The Gun Control Act of 1968 bans the sale, manufacture or importation of bullets that can pierce bullet proof vests when fired from a handgun but exempts those bullets designed for rifles and used primarily by sport shooters and hunters. The M885 "green tip"is a popular round used by hunters because it is inexpensive and efficient.
The green tip ammo was also developed to be more environmentally friendly and replace lead rounds which some worried were causing damage in environmentally sensitive areas.
According to the ATF the determining factor in whether the ammunition should banned isn't whether it has a legitimate use, such as hunting,, but whether it could be used against law enforcement.
"From the perspective of law enforcement, however, the most relevant intent is that of a criminal who seeks to use ammunition capable of penetrating body armor when fired from a handgun," the document reads.
While banning this particular type of ammo would not render AR-15s useless to their owners, it would make using them more expensive and potentially more difficult.
The National Rifle Association and other gun rights groups have struck hard with a lobbying campaign. "A letter from the NRA," written with U.S. Representative Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, blasts the regulatory move by the Obama administration.
"The idea that Congress intended [the ‘armor piercing’ ammunition law] to ban one of the preeminent rifle cartridges in use by Americans for legitimate purposes is preposterous,” the letter reads.
Comments are being accepted on the proposed change until March 16th.
