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Rand Paul Launches ‘Stop Obama’s Ammo Ban’ Campaign

Chuck Ross Investigative Reporter
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Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul is hoping to flood the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE) with public comments in an effort to get the agency to back off of its “backdoor” attempt to ban the popular “green tip” bullet.

“President Obama is determined to cement his anti-gun agenda into law,” begins a letter signed by Paul and posted to the website of his political action committee, RANDPAC.

“I’m counting on your immediate action to help RANDPAC flood the agency with a message from America’s pro-gun majority,” Paul writes in his letter.

BATFE is accepting public comment until March 17 on its proposal to ban .223 M855 “green tip” ammunition. The Obama administration backs the effort, arguing that it is needed because the bullets can pierce bullet-proof vests worn by police.

“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,” White House press secretary Josh Earnest said this week.

BATFE and the White House claim that the bullets, which the agency approved in 1986, will be used in more handguns, which are increasingly being manufactured to be able to hold the ammunition.

But gun rights supporters and nearly 240 lawmakers oppose the effort saying that “green tips” do not pose an increased risk for police.

Chris Cox, the executive director of the National Rifle Association, told Fox News earlier this week that according to the FBI there have been no reported incidents of officers being shot with handguns containing one of the bullets.

In his letter, Paul also cites a mobilized campaign in 2013 which helped thwart Obama’s attempt to expand background checks.

“Your grassroots muscle played a vital role in defeating President Obama’s national gun registration scheme in 2013,” Paul writes. “And your support is needed again to defend our Second Amendment rights in 2015.”

Paul’s letter also asks for a donation to his super PAC.

Below Paul’s letter is a petition supporters are asked to sign. The messages will then be forwarded to BATFE to be considered along with other public comments on the issue.

“Democrats up-and-down the ballot were flushed out of office in the 2014 elections as a result of pushing Obama’s radical anti-gun agenda,” the petition reads.

“[The] ammo ban is a backdoor route to imposing President Obama’s gun control,” the petition continues.

“Despite how Obama tries to impose his agenda through executive fiat, the President is not a king and the Constitution means what it says.”

The petition concludes, “As a member of America’s pro-gun majority, I proudly stand for the Second Amendment and oppose ANY and ALL efforts to subvert our Constitutional rights.”

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