A notice from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) shows the agency is considering a ban on the popular M855 AR-15 round — by re-categorizing the round as “armor piercing.”

Once categorized as “armor piercing,” sales of the M855 rounds can be restricted or banned altogether under language in the Gun Control Act of 1968 (GCA), which describes marketable ammunition as that which is “primarily intended to be used for sporting purposes.”

The ammunition guidelines set forth in the GCA are intended for handguns, but are also being applied to ammunition used in AR-15 rifles because AR-15 pistols fire the same ammunition.

On Friday, the NRA-ILA responded to ATF’s pending ammunition ban, describing it as “a move clearly intended by the Obama administration to repress the acquisition, ownership, and use of AR-15s and other .223 caliber general purpose rifles.” The NRA-ILA made it clear that this is but a “continuation of Obama’s use of his executive authority to impose gun control restrictions and bypass Congress.”

The ATF’s notice makes clear the agency will be accepting “comments for 30 days” prior to finalizing ban. ATF says those comments will be received until March 16, 2015 at APAComments@atf.gov or via snail mail addressed to: Denise Brown, Mailstop 6N-602, Office of Regulatory Affairs, Enforcement Programs and Services, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, 99 New York Avenue, NE, Washington, DC 20226: ATTN: AP Ammo Comments.

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