Chaffetz bill targets DOD over sales of used shell casings
April 30th, 2009 @ 6:03am
By Andrew Adams
WASHINGTON D.C. - Utah's 3rd Congressional District Rep. Jason Chaffetz is upset because he thinks the government found a back-door method of gun control.

He contends instead of restricting guns, the federal government targeted bullets.

Usually the Department of Defense sells more than 100 million used shell casings a year to companies that reload them and sell them to the public. But in March, the D.O.D. announced it was going to destroy the casings.

Four days later, a press release basically offered a retraction. It said, "Upon review, the Defense Logistics Agency has determined the cartridge cases could be appropriately placed in a category of government property allowing for their release for sale."

According to the Daily Herald, munitions makers say it was the Obama administration bowing to the public outcry.

Chaffetz now is introducing legislation to keep the casings coming. The Herald reports the measure would say: "The Secretary of Defense may not implement any policy that would prevent or place undue restriction on the continued sale of intact spent military brass ammunition casings to domestic manufacturers of small arms ammunition."