Liberty News Network has been closely following the ATF’s attempts to illegally ban the popular and common rifle ammunition known as M855 ammo. Last week we posted about the ATF’s new published guide that removed the exemption for the rifle ban, which would have, if the guidebook had been accepted as regulation, completely banned the ammo. A few days ago the ATF scrambled and backtracked on the guidebook, saying it was merely a “publishing error” in an attempt to calm the storm. The proclamation did not calm the waters, though, in that Obama’s ATF was still poised to ban the ammo.
The momentum was already against the ATF, but the movement to stop the ban got much bigger this morning when a majority of Senators, Democrats included, sent a letter to the ATF with a harsh warning about the illegality of such a ban. It appears the letter was the tipping point for the potential defeat of the ban.
Thank you for your interest in ATF’s proposed framework for determining whether certain projectiles are “primarily intended for sporting purposes” within the meaning of 18 U.S.C. 921(a)(17)(C). The informal comment period will close on Monday, March 16, 2015. ATF has already received more than 80,000 comments, which will be made publicly available as soon as practicable.
Although ATF endeavored to create a proposal that reflected a good faith interpretation of the law and balanced the interests of law enforcement, industry, and sportsmen, the vast majority of the comments received to date are critical of the framework, and include issues that deserve further study. Accordingly, ATF will not at this time seek to issue a final framework. After the close of the comment period, ATF will process the comments received, further evaluate the issues raised therein, and provide additional open and transparent process (for example, through additional proposals and opportunities for comment) before proceeding with any framework.
This suggests the 2A is likely to win this battle, but ultimately the war is still being waged. Indeed, it appears the ATF is backing away from the ban for the immediate future. But in doing so they make it clear they still intend to evaluate what they will do with the finished guidelines.
In other words, they aren’t saying they won’t ban the ammunition. They’re just saying they won’t ban it right now.
