US Seeks to Ban 5.56mm/.223-Caliber Ammo

WASHINGTON, DC -- The Obama administration is considering banning a type of ammunition used in one of the most popular types of rifles because it says the bullets can pierce a police officer's protective vest when fired from a handgun.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is proposing the ban of some types of 5.56 mm rounds - or .223-caliber - used in widely available and popular AR-15-style rifles because the bullets can also be used in some new types of handguns. Other types of 5.56 mm rounds would still be legal to buy, own and fire from guns.

The rule change would affect only "M855 green tip" or "SS109" rounds with certain types of metal cores. People who already own the ammunition would be allowed to continue to legally own it, but manufacturers would not be allowed to produce, sell, import or distribute it.

In a letter to ATF Director B. Todd Jones last month, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., objected to the rule change, saying it would "interfere with Second Amendment rights by disrupting the market for ammunition that law-abiding Americans use for sporting and other legitimate purposes."

Armor-piercing handgun ammunition has been banned since 1986 as a way to protect police officers under the federal Law Enforcement Officers Protection Act. The rifle bullets now facing a ban were long considered exempt because they were used for sporting purposes, such as target shooting.

An ATF spokeswoman, Ginger Colbrun, said Monday the agency is considering eliminating the exemption now because of the production of so-called AR pistols that can fire the same cartridge. The agency is accepting public comment about the proposed change until March 16 at the email address APACommentsatf.gov, by fax or postal mail. Colbrun said it's unclear when a final decision will be made.

At issue is the material in the core of the bullets. As long as the bullet's core does not contain particular types of metal, including steel, iron or brass, the bullet would still be legally available.

Colbrun said 32 manufacturers make roughly 168 types of ammunition that can be used in the rifles and would remain legal.

The semi-automatic AR-15 rifle, a commercially available gun that resembles the military's M-16 rifle, has become wildly popular among gun enthusiasts in recent years. It's also been the target of Democratic lawmakers who sought to ban the weapons after the 2012 shooting deaths of a dozen people at a movie theater in Colorado and 20 children and six adults at a school in Connecticut. Those efforts failed, but gun rights advocates, including the National Rifle Association, warned that the administration would continue a push to ban the popular guns.

NRA Institute for Legislative Action Executive Director Chris W. Cox said Tuesday "the NRA and our tens of millions of supporters across the country will fight to stop President Obama's latest attack on our Second Amendment freedoms."

ATF's proposed ammunition ban has been under consideration since 2011.

Reference: http://abc30.com/politics/atf-seeks-to-ban-556mm-223-caliber-ammo/542592/

(Copyright ©2015 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Mr. Biden Didn't Get It Completely Wrong This Time...

"They're looking to build roadblocks," Biden said. "They say it isn't about guns - they're just wrong, it is about guns."

So, this is Biden's new approach to getting people to change their minds. Does he not realize, that although the words have changed, it's still the same thing? I bet what else he doesn't realize, is with that statement, he as fed opportunity to those of us against gun control laws.

How?

With the same thing that the house of Republicans are now asking questions about. The previous laws on guns. We did discuss this earlier this week, but I think it is a subject that really needs looking at. And with the House on board and asking questions now, it's even more important.

A total of 23 Representatives sent a letter to the President and the Attorney General requesting that they release about 11 years of data regarding the prosecution of firearm crimes. Some of the information they attained, was pretty astounding.

In fact, in 2010 there were only 62 prosecutions that came from around 4,700 applications sent off for investigation. Now, how many actually believe that ONLY 62 actually needed prosecuting out of the much larger number? Yeah, as I tell my kids: 2+2 is not equaling 4 there.

Even the letter written and signed by the house brings up the point that it is impudent to start new laws when the old ones are being prosecuted. It means that many of the guns out there today are held by criminals and possibly even the mentally unstable because we are letting people get away with whatever they want. If you want a law to be effective then you actually have to get up and do something about it, not just weigh society down with yet another law that the officials are going to continue to ignore.

Well, Mr. Biden I want to thank you for bringing up an excellent point in our debate. You are partially right, it is about guns.....the prosecution of guns that is! Get the Attorney General to do his job and I bet the gun violence prevention will rise on it's own without sacrificing our Second Amendment Rights! :)

Violence Committed by a Person With a Gun

I believe the term "Gun Violence" to be ridiculous and inaccurate. A gun is simply a machine incapable of operating on it's own. The real fault lies in the individual or individuals using the firearm in an unlawful manner. We don't have a gun violence problem in this country, rather we have a violence problem. If liberals want to label it anything different then they should be calling it "violence committed by a person using a gun." There is no model of firearm to blame for any of the tragedies that have struck this nation over the years. Aside from the individuals themselves who committed these atrocities, the blame lies on existing gun laws, or rather law enforcements ineffectiveness at enforcing them, and our extremely poor mental health system.

Veterans suffering from the tragic reality of war return home from warzones across the globe, receive mediocre treatment, and are thrown out into the real world to deal with their PTSD alone. Drugs are prescribed to millions of Americans, some linked to suicides, to treat people without the care of a psychiatrist. Mental health is looked at by many as taboo and ignored, leading to violence and even mass shootings.

When will people wake up and focus their efforts on improving the real problems and stop labeling the 99.9% of gun owners who are law abiding, productive citizens as "crazies?" Yes you are the government, but believe it or not, you don't always know what is best for us. Let the gun sales following President Obama's gun control announcement do the talking. You think because background checks in January decreased by 10% it means we are starting to agree with you? Not quite, the shelves are bare. If there are no guns to buy no background checks are being done. People are turning to private sales and gun shows to get what they need. It's ironic isn't it.