ATF Proposed "Armor Piercing" Ammo Ban
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF, BATF, or BATFE), is planning to reconsider the definition in a 28-year old law, the Law Enforcement Officers Protection Act of 1986 (P.L. 99-408) (“LEOPA”), and issue a ban on "armor piercing" ammunition for "sporting purposes." This ban may severely impact the availability and legality of commonly used M855, SS109, and similar ammo. This ammo is regularly used in .223/5.56 rifles.
The ATF has suggested it intends to revoke the "sporting purposes" exemption for M855 ammunition, which would likely make it unlawful to possess. Of course, M855 is widely used in AR-15 rifles for recreational and competitive shooting activities, under this 28-year old law.
The ATF rationale is that the ammunition is "armor-piercing," and "may be" fired from handguns, so therefor, since handguns are the primary choice of criminals, and in order to protect officers' lives, the exemption of this ammo for "sporting purposes" may be revoked, making the ammunition illegal, even though the ammunition was not "designed for" handguns, as described in the original law. This framework, if adopted, could be expanded to other caliber ammunition, as interpreted by ATF.
According to Brownell's, the ATF will take public comments on this action until March 13, 2015. You may leave comments at the following email address: APAComments@atf.gov.
Please note, the ATF will automatically disregard any comments containing abusive or vulgar language, so state your opinion plainly and clearly.
To read the ATF's 17-page pdf proposal framework, click here.
The NRA Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA) recommends contacting your U.S. Representative, and has information in their article for doing so. To read the NRA-ILA article, click here.
The ATF has suggested it intends to revoke the "sporting purposes" exemption for M855 ammunition, which would likely make it unlawful to possess. Of course, M855 is widely used in AR-15 rifles for recreational and competitive shooting activities, under this 28-year old law.
The ATF rationale is that the ammunition is "armor-piercing," and "may be" fired from handguns, so therefor, since handguns are the primary choice of criminals, and in order to protect officers' lives, the exemption of this ammo for "sporting purposes" may be revoked, making the ammunition illegal, even though the ammunition was not "designed for" handguns, as described in the original law. This framework, if adopted, could be expanded to other caliber ammunition, as interpreted by ATF.
According to Brownell's, the ATF will take public comments on this action until March 13, 2015. You may leave comments at the following email address: APAComments@atf.gov.
Please note, the ATF will automatically disregard any comments containing abusive or vulgar language, so state your opinion plainly and clearly.
To read the ATF's 17-page pdf proposal framework, click here.
The NRA Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA) recommends contacting your U.S. Representative, and has information in their article for doing so. To read the NRA-ILA article, click here.
