Coalition Seeks End To ‘Sporting Purposes’ Exemption Impasse for Non-Lead Ammo

A coalition of organizations led by the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) and representing millions of sportsmen and women has written U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to request that the Justice Department, through the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), finalize and begin to implement the necessary policy to apply the “sporting purposes” exemption to the definition of armor-piercing ammunition set forth in the Gun Control Act of 1968. With the recent signing into law by California Gov. Jerry Brown of the first state ban on traditional lead ammunition for hunting, the ability of manufacturers to bring non-lead ammunition to market is increasingly crucial to the continued vitality of hunting and recreational shooting.

The widespread manufacture and availability of this ammunition depends on assured markets provided by reasonable regulation and enforcement at the federal level. ATF’s refusal so far to apply the sporting-purposes test is resulting in a lack of the certainty necessary for many companies to invest in the research and development needed to foster technological advancements in high-performance and cost-effective ammunition. If this continues, it will result in the loss of hunters and recreational shooters, which will have significant economic impacts. For example, in 2012 the firearms and ammunition industries were responsible for $33.36 billion in total economic activity. In addition, hunting alone supports nearly 700,000 jobs.—courtesy NSSF