Democrats Seek to Ban Ammunition Sales That Benefit the Pentagon
(Bloomberg) -- Declaring that “there should never be a government label on ammunition used in a mass shooting,” congressional Democrats plan to introduce legislation today that would forbid the Pentagon from allowing bullets made at an Army-owned munitions plant to be sold to civilians.
Most Read from Bloomberg
Africa’s Richest City Needs $12 Billion to Fix Infrastructure
New York City’s Outdoor Dining Sheds Will Start Disappearing
New York City Paid $2 Million for Empty Hotel Rooms Meant for Migrants
The 5 Coastal States That Face the Most Devastating Flood Risk
The federally owned Lake City Army Ammunition Plant, which is operated by the firearm manufacturer Winchester Ammunition Inc. produces about 1.6 million rounds of military-grade ammunition a year, half of which are sold on the commercial market. The plant’s output supplies more than 30% of the ammunition sold each year for the AR-15-style rifle, a semiautomatic weapon that has been used in several mass shootings in recent years.
Bullets from the Lake City plant, located on a 3,900-acre site about 20 miles east of Kansas City, Missouri, were used to kill civilians in massacres at the Charles Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas; the Mandalay Bay Hotel in Las Vegas; the Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida; and the Tops supermarket in Buffalo, New York.
Pentagon officials have said that commercial sales help bolster military readiness by keeping the plant and its employees working during peacetime and by providing a potential surge capacity in case of a conflict. The commercial sales also help defray the cost of operating the plant, military leaders say. In an interview with Bloomberg News last year, Bruce D. Jette, assistant secretary of the Army for acquisitions, logistics and technology until 2021, said that the contractor pays the DOD a royalty of a few pennies per bullet, averaging about $30 million a year in cash and company-funded improvements to the facility.
US Representative Robert Garcia, said Tuesday that it was unconscionable to have a government label on bullets used to kill civilians and said the new legislation would help prevent military grade ammunition from hitting the streets.
“We have a serious gun epidemic in the United States, and we must stop gun violence before it starts,” said Garcia, a California Democrat who co-sponsored the so-called Stop Militarizing Our Streets Act along with four other members of his party in the House and Senate.
The measure is destined to face fierce opposition in Congress. Previous attempts to end Lake City’s commercial sales — by former President Barack Obama’s administration in 2014 and the Biden administration in 2022 — were swiftly quashed by Republicans, who said doing so would infringe on gun owners’ rights, cost taxpayers money and eliminate many of the 1,700 jobs the plant provides.
DOD officials declined to comment on the proposal Tuesday. In the past, military leaders have said they have no qualms about providing consumers a product they can easily and lawfully buy elsewhere.
But Senator Elizabeth Warren, the bill’s primary Senate sponsor, said Tuesday that the Department of Defense provides so much income for gun and ammunition makers — accounting for 40% of their $18.4 billion in revenue in 2021 — that it has an obligation to use its market power to reduce violence on American streets. The bill would also forbid the military from contracting with gun manufacturers that sell their weapons and ammunition to retailers that don’t adhere to federal gun safety regulations or have histories of repeatedly selling firearms used in crimes.
“Our tax dollars should not be facilitating gun violence in America,” said Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat. “My bill will ensure defense contractors are not selling weapons and bullets of war to potential mass shooters and help keep our communities safe.”
Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek
©2024 Bloomberg L.P.
