Banning Lead Ammo & Taxing Ammo is a Hot Anti-Gun Strategy

According to the anti-gun left that begrudgingly admits that Americans have a constitutional right to own firearms based on court decisions upholding the 2nd amendment, these anti-gun warriors will never give up until every American is stripped of their firearms or at least denied the ability to purchase ammo.  Therefore, going after ammo is their latest strategy to disarm folks.

In the lunatic asylum known as the Peoples Republic of Kalifornia, a bill has been introduced to ban lead ammo, all in the name of protecting the environment of course.

Bill would ban lead ammunition in California

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Environmentalists are pushing legislation to ban lead ammunition in California to prevent toxins from poisoning scavengers that eat animal remains left by hunters.

However, it's not just California that is considering banning lead bullets, the EPA is also considering banning lead bullets.

Environmental Protection Agency Reviewing Petition to Ban Lead Bullets

Several environmentalist groups led by the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) are petitioning the EPA to ban lead bullets and shot (as well as lead sinkers for fishing) under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). Although EPA is barred by statute from controlling ammunition, CBD is seeking to work farther back along the manufacturing chain and have EPA ban the use of lead in bullets and shot because non-lead alternatives are available. But here's the catch: the alternatives to lead bullets are more expensive. A ban on the sale of lead ammunition would force hunters and sport shooters to buy non-lead ammunition that is often double the cost of traditional lead ammunition. A box of deer hunting bullets in a popular caliber could be upwards of $55.

With the federal government currently buying up so much ammo that the price of ammo is already trending through the roof, invoking the environment as a pretext to ban lead ammo will only further dry up ammo supplies and result in soaring prices.  Without a vigorous inventory of affordable ammo, the 2nd Amendment is DEAD.

However, the anti-2nd Amendment goons have also hatched other schemes to drive up the cost of ammo.  Several states and cities are considering huge taxes on ammo.

Legislators: Taxing Ammo into Oblivion Might Be Easier Than Ridding the Country of Guns

The late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan once proposed taxing a particularly lethal bullet by 10,000%. It didn’t go anywhere but the idea of taxing ammo keeps coming back. It was recently discussed as part of the UN Arms Trade Treaty but was rejected by the US administration.

Some legislators are now seeing the implausibility of ridding the country of 300 million guns and are coming to the conclusion that it would be easier to tax ammo into oblivion.

Sen. Beth Bye, D-West Hartford, and Rep. Bob Godfrey, D-Danbury said that constituents are urging stringent gun and ammo regulations in the wake of the Newtown massacre.

They came up with proposals to limit access to high powered weapons and ammunition. One proposal would place a 50% tax on bullets.

I would expect that the trend of the War on Ammo will continue and also intensify because its judicially untested but the courts tend to uphold the right of governments anywhere to tax.  California isn't just attempting to ban lead ammo, it's also pursuing a special tax on ammo.

Lawmakers propose new taxes on ammo to go for anti-violence efforts

Two state lawmakers have proposed a tax on ammunition sold in California, but one would use the money raised to pay for increased policing in high-crime areas and the other would provide screening for mental illness in children.

The measures are among nine pieces of legislation proposed Monday by state Assembly members to deal with gun violence. President Obama and others have identified mental health as an issue to be addressed after young, apparently deranged gunmen went on mass killing sprees in Newtown, Ct., and Aurora, Colo., last year.

Assemblyman Roger Dickenson (D-Sacramento) proposed the nickel-a-bullet tax on the sale of ammunition to go for mental health evaluations and intervention in cases where problems are discovered.

"Screening young children for signs of mental illness and addressing any issues early on is the key to a healthier and more productive adult life," Dickenson said in a statement. "A limited tax on ammunition is a small price to pay for better mental health care for children in our state."

Saving the environment?  Mental health screenings for children?  The excuses to disarm the American people are endless, even if ludicrous.