“For Sporting Purposes:” A Lukewarm Argument For Cowards

I like to give credit where credit is due. So on the extremely rare occasion when a gun-grabbing Democrat says something Constitutionally correct, I feel it’s a newsworthy development and deserves recognition.

Recently, Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy accidentally stumbled across a fundamental Constitutional truth about firearms freedom in what he undoubtedly thought would be a profound statement in support of ammo capacity limits. Murphy, in support of new federal legislation that would set universal limits on the capacity of ammunition feeding devices available to the general public, opined on record that anyone who possesses magazines with a capacity higher than ten rounds is intent on “arming against the government.”

Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy has been a champion for government monopoly on firepower since Sandy Hook. Image: thetruthaboutguns.com

This ironic statement out of Washington via the Constitution State coincided with an announcement from the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) that it will seek to ban the M855 “Green Tip” round, for all intents and purposes the same 5.56 NATO round with a steel penetrator core issued to the military, on the grounds that it is “armor piercing” and thus not primarily used “For Sporting Purposes.”

Immediately, the internet exploded with lukewarm Republicans and NRA-types jumping to attack these assertions, claiming that thirty round magazines and Green Tips are commonly used in legitimate shooting sports, that the rounds are not in fact classifiable as “armor-piercing,” and are perfectly applicable for defense against home invaders. Because that’s exactly what the Second Amendment was written for – “legitimate” shooting sports and home invaders.

The projectile of the M855 round is painted green to differentiate it from other rounds of the same caliber.

Having successfully and cleanly taken two deer with an AR-15 and M855 rounds this past November, I can personally attest to the effectiveness of the Green Tip as a viable sporting round. I have also shot Green Tips recreationally and professionally, and have found them perfectly suitable for marksmanship training and qualification. But at what point did hunting and sporting become a litmus test for whether arms or ammunition were appropriate for private ownership? Furthermore, at what point did “arming against the government” become such a radical concept that so-called Second Amendment supporters were afraid to admit that it’s a Constitutionally guaranteed check against tyranny?

Of course, public reaction over the impending ban is certain to accelerate the flow of ammunition through the marketplace as fear mongering abounds and panic buying ensues. Since the ATF announcement, online shooting sports store Cheaper Than Dirt took the opportunity to capitalize on the proposed ban, doubling the price of some 5.56 NATO cartridges to nearly $1 per round overnight, and the rounds are still moving by the crate into citizen stockpiles nationwide. (For target shooting).

This is the same online store that reportedly sold used, steel mil-spec magazines, typically about $7 apiece, for close to $100 each during the height of the post-Sandy Hook buying spree in 2012-13. Even with the ridiculous price-gouge, the magazines were being bought up to the point of complete unavailability. (You know, because people wanted some serious target practice).

Unlike the lukewarm Republican who will bastardize the Second Amendment to remain civil, I will not insult your intelligence by telling you that M855 is not a military cartridge any more than I’ll tell you that thirty round magazines aren’t for suppressing the enemy in a firefight. Yes, the Green Tip is a man-slayer. Yes, it is reinforced with a steel core that gives it some additional penetration beyond the average .223 round.  Yes, it’s the ball round that the military uses to shoot terrorists. And yes, as an American I support private ownership of these conventional arms precisely for the purpose of checking the natural tendency of government toward tyranny.

Yes Washington, as your parents, We The People own these military-style magazines and rounds to keep you in your place. We’re not stupid.  We see you arming against us with one hand and legislating against us with the other.  And that is exactly why basic fighting loads of Green Tips will sit at the ready, loaded into thirty-round magazines on bandoliers, in more closets in America than you’ll likely ever know.

By Anthony James Kidwell – DontComply.com