October 23, 2012
Memo to Ammo Makers from the CBD: Oppose the Sportsmen’s Act of 2012 (Wait, what?)
It is an Alice in Wonderland through the looking glass moment we could not have predicted.
The Center for Biological Diversity (CBD), which is leading the effort to force the federal Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) to ban traditional ammunition, has been contacting ammunition manufacturers by email asking them to oppose the Sportsmen’s Act of 2012 (S.3525) – a bipartisan package of measures that among other things would stop the CBD’s effort to ban traditional ammunition.
Starting off by misnaming S.3525 the “Sportsmen’s Heritage Act”, CBD warns ammo makers that the bill “may very well cut into your sales of non-lead ammunition over the next decade.” These companies do make alternative ammunition for those who want it, of course, but 95 percent of what is sold is of the traditional kind. So, ammunition makers are going to support – not oppose – S.3525 because it stops the CBD-led crusade to ban traditional ammo that would drive up costs, cause massive shortages and kill conservation funding derived from the federal excise tax paid on the very ammunition the CDC wants to ban.
The Centers for Disease Control tell us that there is no evidence of harm to humans from use of traditional ammunition in hunting. Nor is there any good science to support an assessment of a negative impact on wildlife populations.
The Senate returns to Washington on Nov. 13 for its lame duck session and a vote on the Sportsmen’s Act has been promised. Please be sure to call your U.S. senators at 202-224-3121 and tell them to support S.3525!
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