What You Need to Know About the Armor-Piercing Bullet Controversy

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives proposed banning armor-piercing ammunition. Gun-rights activists objected. On Tuesday, the ATF meekly backed down. What gives?

The federal agency had proposed blocking the manufacture and sale of the armor-piercing 5.56-millimeter "M855 green tip" rifle round because gun owners were using the bullet in certain unusual handguns. Since handguns are easier to conceal than rifles, the ATF reasoned, the M855 green tip poses a threat to police officers, most of whom wear body armor. The National Rifle Association rallied its troops, branding the bullet ban a harbinger of broader gun restrictions. Even before the public comment period was due to end next Monday, the ATF said it received more than 80,000 e-mails and other responses, the "vast majority" of them opposing the ban. The ATF ran up a white flag. "You spoke, we listened," the agency said in a Twitter post Tuesday. Who says taxpayers don't get prompt service from Washington?