Thank you for contacting me about the regulation of armor-piercing ammunition. I appreciate hearing from you.
Every day, brave law enforcement officers risk their lives to make our communities safer. In return, government leaders have a responsibility to do all they can to help protect and support law enforcement. Congress passed the Law Enforcement Officers Protection Act in 1986, which defined and regulated armor-piercing ammunition, among other provisions. In response to concerns expressed by law enforcement officials, Congress prohibited two types of ammunition capable of penetrating body armor: 1) a projectile or projectile core that may be used in a handgun and that is constructed of certain specified metals; and 2) a full-jacketed projectile larger than .22 caliber designed and intended for use in a handgun and whose jacket weighs more than 25 percent of its total weight.
The law includes an exemption for ammunition that is "primarily intended to be used for sporting purposes" and gives the Attorney General the authority to determine which ammunition should be included in that category. Since 1986, the Attorney General has tasked the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) with evaluating which types of body armor-piercing ammunition should be included in the sporting exemption.
On February 13th, 2015 the ATF announced a draft framework for determining which projectiles qualify for the sporting exemption. This draft seeks to establish an objective set of guidelines that will create a fair and predictable process for exempting ammo. If this framework is implemented, the ATF will grant the sporting exemption to two types of projectiles: 1) a .22 caliber projectile that weighs less than 40 grains and is loaded into a rimfire cartridge; and 2) a projectile that is loaded into a cartridge that may be used only in a single-shot handgun. Under this new framework, 5.56mm projectiles would not be exempted; it would thus be illegal to manufacture, import, or sell them in most circumstances because those projectiles, when loaded into SS109 and M855 cartridges, could be used in a handgun other than a single-shot handgun. Used in these handguns, such ammunition poses a grave threat to our law enforcement officers.
The ATF is accepting public comments on its draft framework until March 16th, 2015. You may wish to share your concerns with the ATF at
[email protected]. Public comments are a key avenue for citizens to make their voices heard.
Please be assured that I will monitor the ATF's process for considering and implementing its proposed framework and I will be sure to keep your views on this important issue in mind. Thank you again for contacting me.
Sincerely,
Signature
Tim Kaine