Guess What? Common AR-15 Green Tip Ammo is ALREADY Banned, Turning Tens of Thousands into Felons Overnight [UPDATE: ATF Responds]

On Friday February 13 at 4:00 pm, the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms released a proposal to ban commonly used M855 “green tip” AR-15 ammunition under the guise of law enforcement safety. The same day the proposal was released, on a Friday of a three day holiday weekend, ATF opened up a shortened 30-day period for the public to submit comments about the new regulation.

But it turns out, ATF has been working on a ban of AR-15 “green-tip” ammunition for quite some time and has already issued the ban in its new, 2014 Regulation Guide. For reference, ATF Regulation Guides come out approximately every ten years.

When you take a look at the 2005 ATF Regulation Guide, you’ll see an exemption for AR-15 “green-tip” ammunition, which means it exempted from the definition of “armor piercing” and therefore is legal on the federal level . . .

“The 2014 edition of the Federal Firearms Regulations Reference Guide contains information that will help you comply with Federal laws and regulations governing the manufacture, importation and distribution of firearms and ammunition. This edition contains new and amended statutes enacted since publication of the 2005 edition, as well as updated regulations and rulings issued by ATF. In addition to these updated materials, in response to inquiries received from industry members, the public, and partner agencies, the 2014 edition contains additional and amended Questions and Answers to assist with compliance,” ATF Director B. Todd Jones states in the 2014 edition of the new Regulation Guide (emphasis mine). “Laws may change over time, as will information in this guide.”

The Office of Management and Budget must review and approve ATF Regulation Guides, which again, come out approximately every 10 years. This can take months and changes to Regulation Guides are not easily or often made. Because of the lengthy amount of time it takes for OMB to approve a new ATF Regulation Guide, ATF’s comment period is just for show. ATF officials and the White House have (and never did) no interest in actually listening to or considering comments that are currently being submitted. The exemption for the ammunition in question has already been stripped out of the regulation handbook moving forward and “green-tip” has been reclassified as “armor piercing.” The rules have been changed. Further, because of local rules and regulations in different states across the country having their own “armor piercing” standards based on ATF regulations, thousands of people in possession of AR-15 green tip ammunition have essentially been turned into felons overnight. (Read more about the AR-15 green tip ammo being banned HERE)

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UPDATE: ATF Claims Publishing Mistake

Yesterday I exclusively reported that common AR-15 “green tip” ammunition has already been banned in the new 2014 Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms Regulation Guide, which was published in January. After the story received wide public attention [above] ATF released a response Friday night at 9:12 p.m. blaming a publishing error for stripping out the “armor piercing” and ban exemption for AR-15 “green tip” ammunition.

Nothing to analyze here folks, just a publishing mistake. No AP ammo exemptions revoked @NRA @NSSF. See https://t.co/mEIKThYBAX
— ATF HQ (@ATFHQ) March 7, 2015

. . .Most importantly, if you’re in possession of AR-15 “green tip” ammunition, legally you’re good to go in most states and not in possession of “armor piercing” ammunition. Because of the “publishing error” in the 2014 Regulation Guide, ATF has advised FFL’s and others to reference the 2005 Regulation Guidebook, where the ammunition is still exempted.

Despite ATF saying there’s “nothing to analyze here folks,” this simple “publishing mistake” deserves scrutiny. Considering the Office of Management and Budget must approve new Regulation Guides, which come out approximately every 10 years, are difficult to change and take months to review, that’s quite the “publishing mistake.” (Read more from about the AR-15 green tip ammo now NOT banned HERE)

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