Autoplay Next video from Max length

Proposed Bullet Ban Spurs Debate

1,546 views · Published 9 March 2015 · 1:47 · Indexed 20 September 2026

Channel: WTVC NewsChannel 9 · 2015 · News & Politics

YOUR DESCRIPTION HAS REACHED THE LIMIT OF CHARACTERS ALLOWED AND WAS CUT. Public protection or a violation of second amendment rights? That was the debate Sunday night over a possible ban on a more dangerous type of bullet, which is popular at some Chattanooga shooting ranges.

The green tip bullet goes in an AR-15.

Owner of Carters Shooting and Hunting Supply, Kristi Manning, says it's a 62 grain bullet, used mostly for sport.

Now, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms is trying to take green tip bullets off the shelves, permanently.

"The bullet weight is more than 25 percent of the total ammo. It's a heavier bullet and it's more penetrating," manning said.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is proposing the ban of some types of 5.56 mm rounds - or .223-caliber - used in widely available and popular AR-15-style rifles because the bullets can also be used in some new types of handguns. Other types of 5.56 mm rounds would still be legal to buy, own and fire from guns.

The rule change would affect only "M855 green tip" or "SS109" rounds with certain types of metal cores. People who already own the ammunition would be allowed to continue to legally own it, but manufacturers would not be allowed to produce, sell, import or distribute it.

In a letter to ATF Director B. Todd Jones last month, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., objected to the rule change, saying it would "interfere with Second Amendment rights by disrupting the market for ammunition that law-abiding Americans use for sporting and other legitimate purposes."

Armor-piercing handgun ammunition has been banned since 1986 as a way to protect police officers under the federal Law Enforcement Officers Protection Act. The rifle bullets now facing a ban were long considered exempt because they were used for sporting purposes, such as target shooting.

An ATF spokeswoman, Ginger Colbrun, said Monday the agency is considering eliminating the exemption now because of the production of so-called AR pistols that can fire the same cartridge. Colbrun said it's unclear when a final decision will be made.

At issue is the material in the core of the bullets. As long as the bullet's core does not contain particular types of metal, including steel, iron or brass, the bullet would still be legally available.

Colbrun said 32 manufacturers make roughly 168 types of ammunition that can be used in the rifles and would remain legal.

The semi-automatic AR-15 rifle, a commercially available gun that resembles the military's M-16 rifle, has become wildly popular among gun enthusiasts in recent years. It's also been the target of Democratic lawmakers who sought to ban the weapons after the 2012 shooting deaths of a dozen people at a movie theater in Colorado and 20 children and six adults at a school in Connecticut. Those efforts failed, but gun rights advocates, including the National Rifle Association, warned that the administration would continue a push to ban the popular guns.

NRA Institute for Legislative Action Executive Director Chris W. Cox said Tuesday "the NRA and our tens of millions of supporters across the country will fight to stop President Obama's latest attack on our Second Amendment freedoms."

ATF's proposed ammunition ban has been under consideration since 2011.

Scottle Sawfford says he's a green tip bullet owner, and he can see why the government wants to ban them.

"Absolutely. These can cause a lot of damage to somebody," Swafford said.

But he says he doesn't think that's reason enough to ban law-abiding citizens from purchasing it.

"If they do then I'll stockpile it," he says.

A lot of other gun owners seem to have the same idea.

Manning says she'