March 17, 2015
Carson City, NV – Nevada Attorney General Adam Paul Laxalt and 22 other state attorneys general sent a letter to the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) urging the agency to permanently discard a controversial proposed ban on widely used rifle ammunition. On March 10, 2015, after an outpouring of opposition, including from the law enforcement community, ATF shelved the proposal.
“The federal government’s proposed ammunition ban was a solution to a problem that simply does not exist,” said Laxalt. “That is why a bipartisan group of attorneys general and law enforcement organizations oppose the ban. There are real, pressing problems our federal government needs to address, and another needless infringement on our Second Amendment rights does not address any of them.”
After postponing the proposal, ATF indicated it would continue to take public comment, until the close of business on March 16. In the letter submitted to ATF yesterday, Attorney General Laxalt and the other bipartisan attorneys general contended that the proposed ban is arbitrary, unnecessary, and could easily lead to bans on a wide range of rifle ammunition.
“We applaud your recent decision not to issue a final framework on this proposal, at least for now, and we strongly encourage you not to revive it,” the letter states. “We represent our respective states as each state’s Chief Law Enforcement Officer, and in that role we directly oversee or work directly with numerous federal, state, tribal and local law enforcement agencies. We, as much as anyone, want to do the utmost to ensure that our brave men and women that serve in law enforcement are safe. The proposed ATF ban on M855 5.56 ammunition, however, does not advance that goal. Instead, it threatens Second Amendment freedoms and deprives shooting sports enthusiasts of a popular cartridge for a popular rifle.”
In the letter, the attorneys general highlighted the opposition to the ban that was voiced by law enforcement organizations.
The letter also stated, “As law enforcement organizations such as the Fraternal Order of Police have recently described, the 5.56 M855 cartridge does not pose a particular threat to law enforcement. Indeed, we are aware of no examples in our states in which this round has been used against law enforcement in a concealed weapon.”
In closing, the 23 attorneys general urged ATF “to reject this ill-advised proposal and uphold the Second Amendment rights of our citizens.”
The letter was signed by the attorneys general of Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming.
To view the letter sent to the ATF, click here.
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