Washington Examiner link from George Jefferson
A top police representative on Tuesday said that there is no
history of criminals using a round popular among AR-15 rifle shooters
against officers, undermining the Obama administration's argument for
banning the 5.56 M855 "lightgreen tip."
"Any ammunition is of concern to police in the wrong hands, but this
specific round has historically not posed a law enforcement problem,"
said James Pasco, executive director of the Washington office of the Fraternal Order of Police, the world's largest organization of sworn law enforcement officers, with more than 325,000 members.
He told Secrets that the round used mostly for target practice "is not typically used against law enforcement."
While he said that he is "not finding fault" with the surprise move
last month by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to
classify the round as "armor piercing" and then ban it, Pasco added,
"While this round will penetrate soft body armor, it has not
historically posed a threat to law enforcement."
That view not only counters BATFE's
reason for proposing the ban, it also challenges the White House
endorsement of the ban. Spokesman Josh Earnest
said Monday, "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. 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."
The administration's effort is under fire on Capitol Hill where 55 percent of all House members have signed a letter challenging BATFE's proposal.
Many gun enthusiasts believe that the
proposed bullet ban, up for public comment, is a backdoor bid to cut the
popularity of the AR-15, the nation's most popular gun, one critics
call an "assault weapon" and a target of liberals and President Obama.