ATF Supposedly Reneges and Backpedals On It's Proposed Ammunition Ban...A Good News Point (ProTem)

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE) has backpedaled in its attempt to ban the popular M855 5.56/.223 round… Ok, they didn’t admit defeat. They admitted a “publishing error.” No, I’m not kidding.

It was previously reported that the ATF would were considering the bullets in question, which are fired from the highly popular AR-15 and other firearms that shoot the highly popular round, to be designated as “armor piercing” rounds. As I have pointed out, neither the federal government nor the ATF have any constitutional authority to determine anything about any arms or ammunition. Get it? Zero. Zip. Nada.

Yet, they continue to act illegally as though they were given authority to do so.

Not only have the people been flooding the ATF with their patriotic responses against such tyranny, but Congress also took the opportunity to send a letter condemning the ATF’s proposed ammo ban. According to KTVQ, Rep. Bob Goodlatte and a majority of the House of Representatives (239 representatives), the ATF’s assumptions concerning the round are going against the Second Amendment.

They wrote, “The ‘Framework’ does not comport – or conduct – with the Law Enforcement Officers Protection Act’s meaning and intent and should be abandoned,” and “Under no circumstances should ATF adopt a standard that will ban ammunition that is overwhelmingly used by law-abiding Americans for legitimate purposes.”

Once the letter was received and the public began to speak out, the ATF claimed what the Obama administration has been infamous for and that is a “publishing error.”

Nothing to analyze here folks, just a publishing mistake. No AP ammo exemptions revoked @NRA @NSSF. See http://t.co/mEIKThYBAX

— ATF HQ (@ATFHQ) March 7, 2015

According to the ATF:

On Feb. 13, 2015, ATF released for public comment a proposed framework to guide its determination on what ammunition is “primarily intended for sporting purposes” for purposes of granting exemptions to the Gun Control Act’s prohibition on armor piecing ammunition. The posted framework is only a proposal, posted for the purpose of receiving public comment, and no final determinations have been made.

Media reports have noted that the 2014 ATF Regulation Guide published online does not contain a listing of the exemptions for armor piercing ammunition, and conclude that the absence of this listing indicates these exemptions have been rescinded. This is not the case.

Please be advised that ATF has not rescinded any armor piercing ammunition exemption, and the fact they are not listed in the 2014 online edition of the regulations was an error which has no legal impact on the validity of the exemptions. The existing exemptions for armor piercing ammunition, which apply to 5.56 mm (.223) SS 109 and M855 projectiles (identified by a green coating on the projectile tip), and the U.S .30-06 M2AP projectile (identified by a black coating on the projectile tip), remain in effect.

The listing of Armor Piercing Ammunition exemptions can be found in the 2005 ATF Regulation Guide on page 166, which is posted here.

The 2014 Regulation Guide will be corrected in PDF format to include the listing of armor piercing ammunition exemptions and posted shortly. The e-book/iBook version of the Regulation Guide will be corrected in the near future. ATF apologizes for any confusion caused by this publishing error. (emphasis mine)

OK, so if it was merely a publishing error, why did White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest defend the administration’s attempts ban the ammunition?

Earnest called it a “common-sense step,” something I pointed out that neither the administration, Congress nor the unconstitutional ATF had any authority to be engaged in.

He went on to blather, “This seems to be an area where everyone should agree that if there are armor-piercing bullets that fit into easily concealed weapons, that puts our law enforcement at considerably more risk.”

Of course, that was a lie as AR-15 type pistols are not “easily concealed weapons” nor do they put law enforcement at considerably more risk since not one police officer has been shot with the particular round in question.

This is just like the time the military was caught identifying evangelical Christians as “religious extremists” ahead of the Muslim Brotherhood, only for the Army, under the Obama administration, to claim that is was a publishing error.

This does not mean that the ATF has back off of its agenda to ban the M855 ammunition under Barack Obama, it just means they are attempting damage control.