I wrote four of my state reps and received one reply thus far. Below is a reply from Mr. Cornyn:
Dear Mr. Wells:
Thank you for contacting me regarding recent actions by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (BATFE). I share your concerns and appreciate having the benefit of your comments on these important matters.
As you may know, Congress passed the Law Enforcement Officers Protection Act (LEOPA) in 1986 to protect law enforcement officers from "armor piercing" ammunition, but importantly exempted ammunition "primarily intended for sporting purposes," to account for the fact that sporting rifle ammunition could potentially be fired from handguns. Unfortunately, on February 13, 2015, the BATFE announced it would attempt to ban the manufacture and importation of certain ammunition by changing the way it interprets the LEOPA "sporting purposes" exemption.
I believe the BATFE is abusing its authority by interpreting the meaning of "sporting purposes" under LEOPA in this way, and am sending a letter to BATFE Director Todd Jones in opposition to this proposal.
As a strong proponent of the Second Amendment, I believe it is essential to safeguard law-abiding citizens' constitutional right to own and use firearms for lawful purposes. Restricting this right runs counter to the intent of our Founding Fathers, who expressly guaranteed that citizens would retain the right to keep and bear arms. Furthermore, as a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which has primary jurisdiction over the BATFE, I will continue working with my colleagues to provide oversight of this agency.
I appreciate the opportunity to represent Texans in the United States Senate, and you may be certain that I will continue working with my colleagues to protect our Second Amendment rights. Thank you for taking the time to contact me.
Sincerely,
JOHN CORNYN
United States Senator
517 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Tel: (202) 224-2934
Fax: (202) 228-2856
