WASHINGTON, D.C. –-(AmmoLand.com)- Representative Thomas Massie, Chairman of the Congressional Second Amendment Caucus, issued the following statement regarding the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s last-minute ban of lead ammunition on national wildlife refuges one day before President Trump assumed office.
“On his last full day in office, President Obama’s administration made one last effort to bypass Congress and ban the use of commonly-used ammunition on public lands,” said Rep. Massie.
“This isn’t about conservation. This is about reducing Americans’ ability to exercise their Second Amendment rights. “
“President Obama was unable to strengthen gun control through the appropriate legislative channels, so he deferred to his “pen and phone” at the last minute. The Second Amendment Caucus will work to prevent this overreaching order from ever being implemented.”
On January 19, 2017, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Dan Ashe revived an effort to ban the use of lead ammunition on Service lands. The stated purpose of Director’s Order 219, which went into effect immediately, is “to establish procedures and a timeline for expanding the use of nontoxic ammunition and fishing tackle on Service lands, waters, and facilities and for certain types of hunting and fishing regulated by the Service outside of Service lands, waters, and facilities.”
The order seeks to ban the use of lead ammunition on national wildlife refuges by January 2022.