On Monday, White House press secretary Josh Earnest said that President Obama supports the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives\u2019\u2013which is to say, President Obama\u2019s\u2013ongoing attempt to ban M855-type AR-15 ammunition. Obama \u201chas long believed that there are some common sense steps that we can take,\u201d Earnest said.<\/p>\n
\u201c[E]veryone should agree that if there are armor-piercing bullets available that can fit into easily concealed weapons, that it puts our law enforcement [officers] at considerably more risk.\u201d<\/p>\n
For starters, notice Earnest\u2019s words \u201ceveryone\u201d and \u201ccommon sense.\u201d As investigative journalist Sharyl Attkisson recently explained, the use of such words is an \u201castroturfing\u201d technique designed \u201cto give the impression that there\u2019s widespread support for or against an agenda when there\u2019s not.\u201d<\/p>\n
In reality, Obama\u2019s attempt to ban the second most popular ammunition for the most popular rifle in America is being widely and vigorously opposed. More than half the members of Congress have signed House of Representatives Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte\u2019s (R-Va.) letter to BATFE director R. Todd Jones opposing the ban.<\/p>\n
Strong opposition is also expected with a Senate opposition letter being spearheaded by Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee Chuck Grassley. Large numbers of gun owners are contacting Congress, urging opposition to the ban. Gun owners are also contacting BATFE to convey their reasons for opposing the ban. (To assist gun owners, NRA-ILA provided initial information about the ban on February 13th, and additional details on February 18th.)<\/p>\n
Furthermore, many in the law enforcement community oppose the ban. WND.com reports that the law enforcement officers it interviewed disagreed with the administration\u2019s characterization of M855 as a special threat to men and women in blue. Asked if any law enforcement officers had been killed or seriously wounded by M855 fired from a handgun, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Sheriff David Clarke, Jr., said, \u201cNot in my jurisdiction. We\u2019re doing a search nationwide . . . but so far we haven\u2019t found anything.\u201d Similarly, Sgt. Dana Pierce, of the Cobb County Police Department, near Atlanta, said he\u2019s never heard of any officer being shot at, or even threatened, by a criminal wielding an AR-15 handgun.<\/p>\n
Then there\u2019s the White House\u2019s implication that AR-15-type handguns are \u201ceasily concealed weapons.\u201d Naturally, the same idea is being pushed by the BATFE. In its Framework explaining the ban, BATFE says AR-15-type handguns pose a \u201csignificant threat\u201d to law enforcement officers, implying that they are \u201csmall, concealable firearms.\u201d Not surprisingly, one of Michael Bloomberg\u2019s Everytown operatives, Mark Glaze, is \u201con message\u201d with the administration, recently telling Fox News, \u201cwhat you\u2019re worried about is handguns that are cheap, small, and easy to conceal, if they can carry bullets that can cut through your Kevlar vest.\u201d Maybe the White House meant \u201cEverytown\u201d when it said that \u201cEveryone\u201d supports the ban.<\/p>\n
The \u201ccheap-small-and-concealable\u201d talking point must be another example of the Obama administration and its supporters thinking \u201cthe American people are too stupid\u201d to sort fact from anti-gun fiction. In reality, an AR-15-type handgun is very expensive and, at about six pounds in weight and two feet in length, it\u2019s a contender for the \u201cLeast Small, Least Easy-to-Conceal Handgun\u201d on the planet.<\/p>\n