Vigilance to Preserve our Second Amendment Rights

The Obama administration’s recent unilateral effort to ban M855 ammunition posed a challenge to Nebraskans’ Second Amendment rights and undermined the freedoms upon which our nation was built. Thankfully, the American people made their voices heard and put a stop to this deeply disturbing executive overreach.

This week, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) announced it will not proceed with a ban on M855 ammunition. The decision comes less than a month after the agency first quietly proposed the ban.

M855 ammunition was exempt from laws which ban handgun ammunition considered to be armor-piercing due to its common, primary use by hunters and sportsmen for target shooting. ATF’s proposal to ban such popular recreational ammunition distorted the law and opened the door for further violations of Americans’ constitutional rights.

Reactions to the original proposal were unprecedented. ATF received more than 80,000 comments before backing off on the ban, demonstrating how fervently the American people made their opposition known.

At the same time, Congress applied pressure and demanded transparency from the administration. Last week, I joined 238 House colleagues in sending a letter to ATF Director B. Todd Jones expressing my opposition to the proposed ban and requesting answers to stop its implementation. More than 50 Senators also came together to send a letter of their own.

The reaction to this situation sets a positive example. People across the country voiced their opposition to ATF’s proposed ban both to the agency and to their representatives. Congress acted quickly to make the concerns of the American people known to the administration and pushed for constitutional rights to be upheld. In the end, mounting pressure on ATF resulted in a victory for the Second Amendment.

However, this latest proposed infringement on our Second Amendment rights reminds us we must remain vigilant. ATF said in a statement it will not pursue the ban “at this time” and will conduct “further study” into the issue. Given these assertions, I remain skeptical of ATF’s sudden change in course and believe we need to be prepared for this issue to resurface down the road. For this reason, I have cosponsored legislation to formally prohibit ATF from attempting this rule change or other ammunition bans in the future.

Moreover, I remain concerned by the mounting examples of the Obama administration bypassing Congress to impose its agenda. President Obama’s disregard for our legislative branch continues to grow with each unilateral decision, from health care to immigration to this latest attempt to ban M855 ammunition. While the President refuses to engage with Congress, we will keep standing against further infringements by this administration on Americans’ constitutional rights.

Nebraska’s sportsmen and hunters should not be prevented from accessing ammunition. As a strong supporter of Second Amendment rights, I will continue working in the House to preserve the constitutional freedoms of all law-abiding Americans.