New York Congressman And Other Democrats Seek To Ban AR-15 Ammo, After ATF Plan Tabled

New York is known for pizza, skyscrapers, buffalo wings, and unfortunately for some, strong gun regulation. Then again, it is not fond of Machetes either, as this writer has reported for the Hill Talk.

Last Friday, the bureau of Tobacco, Alcohol, Firearms, and Explosives, or ATF, was seeking to move on a certain type of AR-15 ammunition and effectively ban it. Well, they are banning 5.56mm and.223mm caliber rounds that are most commonly used in an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle.

As the Washington Examiner reports, the 5.56mm ammunition was one of the few that were not on the 1985 Law Enforcement Protection Act’s ban list. That is because the law was designed to cover armor piercing rounds that could be used in handguns only, because the AR-15 variety were mainly used by target shooters, and still are today.

However, a New York lawmaker is seeking to push through his own version of bill under the apt moniker Armor Piercing Bullets Act. According to the Hill, New York Rep. Eliot Engel (D) says he can’t see why anyone, but the police or military should have such bullets.

“Armor-piercing rounds like green tips should only be in the hands of military personnel or police officers, period. There is absolutely no compelling argument to be made for anyone else to have access to them, but the out-of-touch gun industry lobby is fighting tooth and nail to keep cop-killing ammunition on the streets. We need to speak up on behalf of our police officers and say ‘stop the madness.'”

The rounds aforementioned, and in danger of being banned, are the most popular rounds for the AR-15. Thus, it also means that they are far cheaper. Interestingly, as Townhall points out, the ATF might have already banned the “green tip” ammo. On page 167 of ATF’s Regulation Guide, it details permissible ammo, which at that time included the 5.56mm and.223mm “green tip” variation. It is updated every 10 years, and in the 2015 version of the guide, those particular bullets are noticeably missing.

The ATF has chalked the issue up to a “publishing error“, according to the Inquisitr, though it seems unusual that specific section happened to be missing, during all these discussions.

Despite this unusual fact, the ATF is still publicly on the fence about the ammo ban, and according to the Washington Examiner, New York Rep. Steve Israel has authored a bill to legislate the ammo ban federally. His bill is called the Modernize Law Enforcement Protection Act, and it would include “all bullets that can pierce armor”. Israel and several Democrats also wrote a strongly worded letter to ATF demanding they deal with the issue before the Democrat congressmen, according to the Blaze.

“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.”

New York Rep. Engel chose to be more comical and sarcastic in his approach to the his version of the legislation.

“Deers do not wear body armor. No, I have never met a deer that walks around in Kevlar.”

It is unclear if the New York Representative’s version of the ammo ban will pass, but the more bills written, one will potentially stick. Though, the issue of the missing ATF “green tip” ammo language has been answered, has it been changed?

What are your thoughts? Should there be a ban on these, or any bullets? Does the noticeably absent language mean something, and should ATF address it? Are these bullets really as big of a threat as suggested?

Leave your thoughts.

[Image Via Creative Commons]