"Progressives in and out of government have long sought to ban weapons of all types, but they have particularly targeted black AR-style carbines because they find them exceptionally frightening and Americans find them exceptionally fun to shoot...."

Ammo ban proposal built on straw man logic and outright lies

by Bob Livingston

The Obama regime has mastered the art of sleight of hand like no other before it. It builds up straw men and takes actions that it knows are controversial and unconstitutional in order to create crisis after crisis to cover its ongoing criminality and distract and divide the American people.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ move to ban popular 5.56 M855 and SS109 “green-tip” ammo (along with the .30-06 M2AP “black-tip” round) is just the latest example of Obama’s use of rogue government agencies and sleight of hand to divide and conquer.

Progressives in and out of government have long sought to ban weapons of all types, but they have particularly targeted black AR-style carbines because they find them exceptionally frightening and Americans find them exceptionally fun to shoot. White House spokesman Josh Earnest spilled the beans — whether intentionally or not, only he knows — when he wouldn’t deny that the proposed ban fell under Obama’s stated goal of using “executive action” to make what he has termed “common-sense” gun laws he can’t get through Congress.

“The president has long believed there are some common-sense steps that we can take to… ensure we’re protecting the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding Americans while also taking some common-sense steps to prevent people who shouldn’t have guns from getting them. In this case, we’re talking about an ATF proposal that’s being considered through its standard process and it’s open now for public comment,” Earnest said at a daily briefing last week about the proposed ban, according to The Hill.

“It would be fair to say that we are looking at additional ways to protect our brave men and women in law enforcement and believe that this process is valuable for that reason alone,” he said. “This seems to be an area where everyone should agree: that if there are armor-piercing bullets available that can fit into easily concealed weapons, that it puts our law enforcement at considerably more risk.”

Notice the phrase, “taking some common-sense steps to prevent people who shouldn’t have guns from getting them,” which proves the move is not about banning ammunition, but about banning a weapon by removing its ammo from store shelves. And if it can ban 5.56 (.223) ammo under the notion that is “armor-piercing,” then it can ban heavier rounds like the .30-06, .30-30 and .308 rounds used by hunters because they can also penetrate body armor — and can do so much more efficiently than the 5.56.

The idea that the ban is needed to protect law enforcement and that the AR pistol is concealable is the ultimate in fallacious, straw man logic and a lie on its face. No law enforcement officer in U.S. history has been killed by a 5.56 green tip round fired from an AR-15 pistol. Furthermore, the AR-15 pistol is a pistol in name only. What makes it classify as a pistol is its shorter barrel and lack of a shoulder stock. It’s not the first choice of weapon for a criminal because it is expensive and is definitely not concealable, as this video shows.



Late Friday, the ATF began to walk back its ban by claiming “a publishing error” was responsible for the ammunition’s being left off the newly published exemption list and promising it would be included in an updated version. This was just more sleight of hand, as the ATF was continuing to take comments on the proposal to ban the ammunition.

After intense backlash from gun owners, majorities in both the House and Senate, legislation to disband the ATF, and lobbying by the NRA and Gun Owners of America and members of those organizations, the ATF claims it is rescinding its ban but “plans more study on the proposed AP Ammo exemption framework.” That’s code for, “We’ll wait until you’re not looking.”

Government statists are masters at using gradualism to achieve their goals. Banning ammunition is a long-term strategy to disarm the American people without actually taking away guns.

Besides, the resulting furor over the potential ban just adds another front from which the administration attacks our liberty.

Link:
http://personalliberty.com/ammo-ban-proposal-built-straw-man-logic-outright-lies/