AUGUST 2005

1. The amendment (section 6 of the bill) restates the existing prohibition contained in 18 USC Sec. 922(a) on manufacture or sale by manufacturers of "armor-piercing ammunition", except for government use, export or testing/experimentation authorized by the attorney general. This law has been in effect for nearly two decades and was not changed by the Sec. 6 amendment.

2. It increases the mandatory minimum sentence for the criminal use of "armor-piercing ammunition" in a crime of violence or drug trafficking case from the current federal minimum of five years in prison to an increased penalty of 15 years in prison. It also authorizes the use of the death penalty if the ammunition is used in a murder. So, this is simply a penalty enhancement provision. I think we all agree that bad guys should go to jail.

3. It directs the Attorney General to conduct a study "to determine whether a uniform standard for the testing of projectiles against Body Armor is feasible". (So this is a study to determine whether studies are feasible). In fact, we know that such a standard is "feasible" because the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) has been testing projectiles and body armor since the early 1970's and has regularly written and updated standards for testing projectiles against body armor. NIJ's research has saved lives by improving the design and manufacture of body armor. The NIJ standards and background information are available online at http://www.justnet.org/testing/bodyarmor.html.

1. The amendment does not give the Attorney General - or anyone else - any new authority to ban ammunition.

2. The amendment does not change the definition of "armor-piercing ammunition" under federal law. Under the current federal law, 18 USC Sec. 921(a)(17)(B), ammunition is only "armor-piercing" if it has a bullet that "may be used in a handgun" and is made "entirely" from certain hard materials such as tungsten, steel, bronze or depleted uranium; or if the bullet is "designed and intended for use in a handgun" and has a jacket that weighs more than 25% of the total weight of the projectile. The current definition has been in place for more than 12 years and this amendment does not change that definition.

3. The amendment does not create any kind of new ammunition ban. The only ammunition that is banned as "armor-piercing ammunition" is ammunition that fits the current definition and neither the amendment nor the study would or could change the definition.

John Burtt, Chmn
Fifty Caliber Institute (FCI)