But Defense Dept. policy reversed after intervention by 2 Montana senators
Responding to two Democratic senators representing outraged privategun owners, the Department of Defense announced last night it hasscrapped a new policy that would deplete the supply of ammunition byrequiring destruction of fired military cartridge brass.
The policy already had taken a bite out of the nation’s stressedammunition supply, leaving arms dealers scrambling to find ammo forprivate gun owners.
Mark Cunningham, a legislative affairs representative with the Defense Logistics Agency, explained in an e-mail last night to the office of Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont.,that the Department of Defense had placed small arms cartridge cases onits list of sensitive munitions items as part of an overall effort toensure national security is not jeopardized in the sale of any Defenseproperty.
The small arms cases were identified as a senstive item and were held pending review of policy, he said.
“Upon review, the Defense Logistics Agency has determined thecartridge cases could be appropriately placed in a category ofgovernment property allowing for their release for sale,” Cunninghamwrote.
The Defense Department liaison was responding to a letteryesterday to the Defense Logistic Agency’s Vice Admiral Alan S.Thompson from Tester and fellow Montana Democrat Sen. Max Baucus.The senators argued “prohibiting the sale of fired military brass wouldreduce the supply of ammunition – preventing individual gun owners fromfully exercising their Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms. Weurge you to address this situation promptly.”
Learn here why it’s your right — and duty — to be armed.
One of the companies that brought attention to the issue isGeorgia Arms, which for the last 15 years has been purchasing firedbrass casings from the Department of Defense and private governmentsurplus liquidators. The military collects the discarded casings fromfired rounds, then sells them through liquidators to companies likeGeorgia Arms that remanufacture the casings into ammunition for the law enforcement and civilian gun owner communities.
But earlier this month, Georgia Arms received a canceled order,informed by its supplier that the government now requires fired brasscasings be mutilated, in other words, destroyed to a scrap metal state.
The policy change, handed down from the Department of Defensethrough the Defense Logistics Agency, cut a supply leg out fromunderneath ammunition manufacturers.
The policy compelled Georgia Arms to cancel all sales of .223and .308 ammunition, rounds used, respectively, in semi-automatic anddeer hunting rifles, until further notice. Sharch Manufacturing, Inc.had announced the same cancellation of its .223 and .308 brassreloading components.
“They just reclassified brass to allow destruction of it, basedon what?” Georgia Arms owner Larry Haynie asked WND. “We’ve been ‘goinggreen’ for the last dozen years, and brass is one of the mostrecyclable materials out there. A cartridge case can be used over andover again. And now we’re going to destroy it based on what? We don’twant the civilian public to have it? It’s a government injustice.”