The following is an alert from the National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action on Friday, Feb. 13, 2015:<\/p>\n
In a move clearly intended by the Obama Administration to suppress the acquisition, ownership and use of AR-15s and other .223 caliber general purpose rifles, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives unexpectedly announced today that it intends to ban commonplace M855 ball ammunition as \u201carmor piercing ammunition.\u201d The decision continues Obama\u2019s use of his executive authority to impose gun control restrictions and bypass Congress.<\/em><\/p>\n It isn\u2019t even the third week of February, and the BATFE has already taken three major executive actions on gun control. First, it was a major change to what activities constitute regulated \u201cmanufacturing\u201d of firearms. Next, BATFE reversed a less than year old position on firing a shouldered \u201cpistol.\u201d Now, BATFE has released a \u201cFramework for Determining Whether Certain Projectiles are \u2018Primarily Intended for Sporting Purposes\u2019 Within the Meaning of 18 U.S.C. 921(a)(17)(c)\u201d, which would eliminate M855\u2019s exemption to the armor piercing ammunition prohibition and make future exemptions nearly impossible.<\/em><\/p>\n By way of background, federal law imposed in 1986 prohibits the manufacture, importation, and sale by licensed manufacturers or importers, but not possession, of \u201ca projectile or projectile core which may be used in a handgun and which is constructed entirely . . . from one or a combination of tungsten alloys, steel, iron, brass, bronze, beryllium copper, or depleted uranium.\u201d Because there are handguns capable of firing M855, it \u201cmay be used in a handgun.\u201d It does not, however, have a core made of the metals listed in the law; rather, it has a traditional lead core with a steel tip, and therefore should never have been considered \u201carmor piercing.\u201d Nonetheless, BATFE previously declared M855 to be \u201carmor piercing ammunition,\u201d but granted it an exemption as a projectile \u201cprimarily intended to be used for sporting purposes.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Now, however, BATFE says that it will henceforth grant the \u201csporting purposes\u201d exception to only two categories of projectiles:<\/em><\/p>\n Category I: .22 Caliber Projectiles<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n A .22 caliber projectile that otherwise would be classified as armor piercing ammunition under 18 U.S.C. 921(a)(17)(B) will be considered to be \u201cprimarily intended to be used for sporting purposes\u201d under section 921(a)(17)(C) if the projectile weighs 40 grains or less AND is loaded into a rimfire cartridge.<\/em><\/p>\n Category II: All Other Caliber Projectiles<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Except as provided in Category I (.22 caliber rimfire), projectiles that otherwise would be classified as armor piercing ammunition will be presumed to be \u201cprimarily intended to be used for sporting purposes\u201d under section 921(a)(17)(C) if the projectile is loaded into a cartridge for which the only handgun that is readily available in the ordinary channels of commercial trade is a single shot handgun. ATF nevertheless retains the discretion to deny any application for a \u201csporting purposes\u201d exemption if substantial evidence exists that the ammunition is not primarily intended for such purposes.<\/em><\/p>\n BATFE is accepting comments until March 16, 2015 on this indefensible attempt to disrupt ammunition for the most popular rifle in America. Check back early next week for a more in-depth analysis of this \u201cframework\u201d and details on how you can submit comments.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In a move clearly intended by the Obama Administration to suppress the acquisition, ownership and use of AR-15s and other .223 caliber general purpose rifles, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives unexpectedly announced today that it intends to ban commonplace M855 ball ammunition as \u201carmor piercing ammunition.\u201d The decision continues Obama\u2019s use of his executive authority to impose gun control restrictions and bypass Congress.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":34,"featured_media":33381,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_specdata_upc":"","_specdata_placement":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[244,7,216,240],"tags":[299,613,132],"featured":[],"hunt365":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-33380","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-2nd-amendment-r2kba","8":"category-gunsamerica-authors","9":"category-s-h-blannelberry","10":"category-this-week","11":"tag-ammo-2","12":"tag-ar-15","13":"tag-buzz"},"yoast_head":"\n