ATF Director First Casualty of Ammo Ban Fiasco

The Hill reports that ATF Director B. Todd Jones is resigning following the fiasco that led to the agency temporarily pulling the "green tip" ammo ban proposal:

Jones, who in July 2013 became the first ATF director to be confirmed by the Senate, is departing shortly after the agency dropped a controversial attempt to ban certain armor-piercing bullets used in AR-15 rifles.

The episode was the latest in a series of flaps that has put the Obama administration's ATF at odds with many congressional Republicans. In recent weeks, GOP lawmakers have introduced legislation seeking to tamp down on the agency's authority — and to abolish the ATF altogether.

Attorney General Eric Holder lauded Jones for his service and "groundbreaking" law enforcement initiatives, including an effort to strengthen ballistic imaging technology that recently played a critical role in the investigation of the shooting of two police officers.

Townhall's Katie Pavlich had a great idea on the subject when she posted this comment on Twitter:

Instead of wasting everyone's time confirming a new director, now would be a great time for Congress to abolish ATF http://t.co/2m99ttGH0S
— Katie Pavlich (@KatiePavlich) March 20, 2015

Gun Ban Groups Keep Distance from ATF Bullet Ban Proposal

The Hill reports that two gun ban groups, Everytown for Gun Safety and Gabby Giffords' Americans for Responsible Solutions, deny having any part in the ATF proposal to ban 5.56 M855 ball ammunition commonly used AR-15 rifles:

"We have sent dozens of recommendations to the administration on what they can do to prevent gun violence — this ammo proposal has never been one of them," Lamb told The Hill.

Meanwhile, the gun safety group linked to Giffords, Americans for Responsible Solutions, also said it is not interested in any such bullet ban.

"We are focused on keeping guns out of the hands of dangerous people and protecting the rights of responsible, law-abiding gun owners, not banning bullets or other forms of hardware," spokesman Mark Prentice told The Hill.

ATF's facade of transparency began to crumble over the weekend when reports surfaced that the agency had already removed the exemption for the ammunition from their new regulation guidebook.  They have since claimed it was a publishing error.  In the end, the weight of the over 80,000 comments submitted and the questions related to the missing exemption in the new guidebook was more than the agency could handle. 

ATF Temporarily Shelves Ammo Ban Proposal

Fox News and The Hill are reporting that the ATF has decided to shelve the controversial proposed ban on green tip ammunition commonly used in AR-15 rifles. From The Hill:

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) said it will not seek to issue a final framework for the rule “at this time” after receiving more than 80,000 comments on the proposal, the “vast majority” of which were negative.

"You spoke, we listened," the ATF tweeted.

You spoke, we listened. @ATFHQ plans more study on the proposed AP Ammo exemption framework. See more http://t.co/SmRKMYvw7J
— ATF HQ (@ATFHQ) March 10, 2015

This comes on the heels of Katie Pavlich's article over the weekend pointing out that the new regulations released showing the green tip ammo was already removed from the list of exempted ammunition.  ATF then called that a "publishing error."

While this is good news for now, the ATF release says that the proposal deserves "further study," meaning it may be back at some point in the future.

Goodlatte Wants Answers from ATF on Ammo Ban Proposal

Katie Pavlich reports that Virginia 6th District Congressman, and House Judiciary Chairman, Bob Goodlatte wants answers from ATF Director B. Todd Jones on the agency's proposal to ban on commonly used AR-15 ammunition.

Last week on behalf of the bipartisan House Judiciary Committee, Chairman Bob Goodlatte sent a letter to ATF Director B. Todd Jones demanding answers about a pending ban on commonly used AR-15 ammunition, better known as 5.56 M855 ball ammunition. ATF recently proposed the ban and broadly cited law enforcement officer safety as its justification, saying the ammunition is "armor piercing," but provided zero evidence to back up their endangerment claim. 

As has been pointed out by numerous sources from gun bloggers to the NRA, this proposal is nothing short of rendering the nation's best selling rifle useless. Obama can't get legislation to ban modern sporting rifles so he is doing the next best thing, making sure they can't be used due to lack of ammunition.

Rep. Goodlatte spoke with Fox News about this issue late last week.

If you live in the 6th Congressional District, please take a moment to thank Congressman Goodlatte for standing up for your rights.  Also, if you have not already done so, please comment on the proposal before March 16th by contacting ATF at APAComments@atf.gov, or by fax at (202) 648-9741. Comments can also be sent through the mail to:

• Denise Brown, Mailstop 6N-602, Office of Regulatory Affairs, Enforcement Programs and Services, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, 99 New York Avenue, NE, Washington, DC 20226: ATTN: AP Ammo Comments. 

Update: AmericanRifleman.org reports this morning that the Fraternal Order of Police opposes the proposed ban.