Obama White House: Banning Bullets A ‘Common-Sense Step’ To Save Lives

Last week the Obama administration announced a plan to ban 5.56 mm ammo, mostly commonly used in AR-15s, through a new executive order.

Monday, White House press secretary Josh Earnest defended the bullet ban by saying it is being done to save the lives of law enforcement officers.

“We are looking at additional ways to protect our brave men and women in law enforcement, and believe that this process is valuable for that reason alone,” Earnest said during the daily White House press briefing.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. Bob Goodlatte of Virginia and the National Rifle Association have gathered signatures from over 172 House members on a letter opposing the ammo ban.

“The president has long believed that there are some common-sense steps that we can take … to ensure that we’re protecting the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding Americans while also taking some common-sense steps to prevent people who shouldn’t have guns from getting them,” he said.

The most recent Gallup poll found that an overwhelming 73 percent of Americans are against laws that would ban the possession of handguns. In January 2011, just 5 percent of Americans said they thought banning bullets would help prevent mass shootings.