Explore The NRA Universe Of Websites

APPEARS IN News

M855 – A One-Year Retrospective

Wednesday, February 17, 2016

M855 – A One-Year Retrospective

Remember a year ago – February 13, 2015, to be precise – when the Obama administration presented a convoluted rationale by which M855, the second most popular variety of ammunition used in the nation’s most popular rifle, was to be banned?

At the time, Obama’s White House spokesman said that banning M855 would be a “common sense step” about which “everyone should agree.” Banning the ammunition would mean “greater gun safety,” proclaimed the New York Times. Failure to ban it would be “untenable” and “preposterous,” pontificated the Washington Post. Or, as the Los Angeles Times put it, “another loss for public safety.”

They all said that the ban was necessary to protect law enforcement officers, as did the increasingly inconsequential Brady Campaign and Violence Policy Center.

How the proposed ban played out was chronicled extensively in NRA-ILA Grassroots Alerts from February 13 through March 13, 2015. Suffice it to say now that the ban was opposed by law enforcement experts, 238 members of the U.S. House of Representatives, 53 U.S. senators, 80,000 Americans who submitted comments to ATF, and the NRA. And in the end, the ban was shelved.

And the result? The same that followed gun control supporters’ prediction, during the 1970s and 1980s, that crime would rise unless handguns were banned. And the same prediction, beginning in 1987, when there were 10 Right-to-Carry (RTC) states, that RTC laws would cause crime to rise. And the same prediction, beginning in 1989, relative to banning some or all semi-automatic firearms and magazines that hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition.

Since those predictions, the number of handguns Americans own has nearly quadrupled, the number of Right-to-Carry states has more than quadrupled, the numbers of semi-automatic firearms and their ammunition magazines have risen by even greater margins, and violent crime has fallen to a 44-year low. 

And as for M855, well, when was the last time you heard anyone in the law enforcement field mention it?

Today, the anti-gunners’ worn-out “sky-is-falling” prediction centers around background checks for private transfers of firearms. Same degree of hyperbole. Same type of rhetoric. Same shameless use of distortion. 

And the White House continues to act unilaterally to try to impose gun control on the U.S. 

We’ve said it before, gun control advocates are counting on American voters to have short memories this November. If you don’t want more of the same, choose wisely and vote freedom first.

TRENDING NOW
Due Process: The Backbone of Legal Legitimacy

News  

Monday, September 8, 2025

Due Process: The Backbone of Legal Legitimacy

Close observers of the gun debate often see references to due process.

Gun Control “Journalist” Says the Quiet Part Out Loud

News  

Monday, September 8, 2025

Gun Control “Journalist” Says the Quiet Part Out Loud

Pure gun control. As in disarmament and banning of firearms. It’s rare that anti-gunners get straight to the exact point that we have been warning of for decades. 

Third Circuit Strikes Some New Jersey Carry Restrictions in NRA Case

Thursday, September 11, 2025

Third Circuit Strikes Some New Jersey Carry Restrictions in NRA Case

Yesterday, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals issued an opinion in Siegel v. Platkin, striking some of the carry restrictions New Jersey enacted in response to the NRA’s landmark Supreme Court victory, New York State Rifle & ...

The Desperate Deflection to the “Red State Murder Problem”

News  

Monday, September 8, 2025

The Desperate Deflection to the “Red State Murder Problem”

California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) may have thought he had scored against President Donald Trump in a recent war of words over rampant crime and the deployment of federal law enforcement agents to Democratic-led cities

NRA Files Amicus Brief Urging SCOTUS to Hear Challenge to Washington’s Magazine Ban

Monday, September 8, 2025

NRA Files Amicus Brief Urging SCOTUS to Hear Challenge to Washington’s Magazine Ban

Today, the National Rifle Association filed an amicus brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to grant certiorari in a case challenging Washington State’s ban on firearm magazines that hold more than 10 rounds.

California: Legislature Adjourns with Anti-Gun Bills Headed to the Governor's Desk

Monday, September 15, 2025

California: Legislature Adjourns with Anti-Gun Bills Headed to the Governor's Desk

On Friday the California State Legislature adjourned the 2025 legislative session in typical California fashion, advancing anti-gun legislation to Governor Newsom's desk. Contact Governor Newsome today and urge his veto of AB 1078, AB 1127, AB ...

Illinois: Governor Signs Mandatory Firearm Storage Law

Wednesday, September 3, 2025

Illinois: Governor Signs Mandatory Firearm Storage Law

Earlier this month, Governor JB Pritzker signed Senate Bill 8 into law. This legislation imposes new mandatory firearm storage requirements on law-abiding gun owners.  

Minnesota: Senate Gun Violence Prevention Working Group Meeting on Monday

Friday, September 12, 2025

Minnesota: Senate Gun Violence Prevention Working Group Meeting on Monday

On Monday, September 15th, the Minnesota Senate will hold a special working group on "gun violence prevention."

New York Law Imperils U.S. Olympic Target Shooting, Favors China’s Dominance

News  

Monday, September 15, 2025

New York Law Imperils U.S. Olympic Target Shooting, Favors China’s Dominance

As U.S. shooting sports athletes prepare for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, New York law is burdening target shooters in the Empire State.

Supreme Court Review Sought in NRA-Backed Challenge to California’s Magazine Ban

Friday, August 15, 2025

Supreme Court Review Sought in NRA-Backed Challenge to California’s Magazine Ban

Today, a Petition for Certiorari was filed asking the U.S. Supreme Court to hear Duncan v. Bonta, a case—backed by the National Rifle Association and California Rifle & Pistol Association—challenging California’s prohibition on magazines capable of holding ...

MORE TRENDING +
LESS TRENDING -

More Like This From Around The NRA

NRA ILA

Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the "lobbying" arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.