The Firearms Policy Coalition recently shared a link to a crazy letter written by 20 states’ attorneys general. In the letter, these empty suits demand that the United States Army stop letting any 5.56×45 rounds from the Lake City plant be sold to the public because a vanishingly small amount of the ammo gets used in mass shootings.
But, there are several big problems with their argument, including harm this would do to the U.S. military, the fact that 5.56/.223 isn’t a particularly powerful round, and that there are so many good uses for the ammo. So, let’s take a look at the letter and then discuss why it’s dead wrong.
20 attorneys general argued today that 5.56mm ammo "should be limited to military use." https://t.co/XTlJPlzFpE pic.twitter.com/dzTtvW2G1d
— Firearms Policy Coalition (@gunpolicy) January 10, 2024
The letter, originally written by New York’s attorney general Letitia James and signed by 19 other attorneys general, tries to make the case that the military is wrong to sell excess production rounds to the civilian market. As supporting evidence, she lists several mass shootings where Lake City ammo was supposedly found, and then claims that the military is making mass shooters’ jobs easier because production is subsidized by the federal government.
The Biggest Problem With James’ Argument: Military Capacity For A Major War
Even if rounds sold to the civilian market were subsidized (more on that later), stopping this practice would greatly harm the military’s ability to deal with the next major war.
Long story short, the military would pay a LOT of money to keep a plant going and then only use a small percentage of the plant’s ammunition production capacity. Without civilian sales, this is exactly what they’d do, because the military has to have that spare capacity. Should a major war with a near-peer state like China or Russia break out, far more ammunition would be needed than is needed now with only anti-terror operations, supplying Ukraine, and regular peacetime military training.
Unlike most of the world, the United States doesn’t try to take peoples’ right to keep and bear arms away. This gives the Pentagon a much more cost-efficient option to maintain that high production capacity. By selling the excess capacity to civilians, the Pentagon has the opportunity to make US pay for the extra capacity, and even lower their costs between major wars.
So, if anything, we’re subsidizing the Pentagon by paying full price for the ammo while they get it for cost.
A Well-Regulated Militia
The other problem with James’ argument is that the 5.56mm rounds sold to the pubic ends up making for a much more skilled civilian population. Should the United States end up in a major war, many more people will be needed to fight. It’s undoubtedly true that the number of people who know how to pick up and effectively use an AR-15 is a lot higher in the United States than in most other countries.
This means that a higher number of people will feel comfortable volunteering. After every major attack on the United States, there are millions of examples of people who stepped up to the plate to fight for their country. My grandfather did this as soon as he turned 17 during World War II, and I know a number of people who ran right down to sign up after 9/11.
A great example from the post 9/11 period was Chris Kyle, a man who grew up shooting in Texas. He got his first rifle at the age of eight, and it was chambered in .30-06, an old military caliber. He later went on to become the most prolific sniper in military history during the War on Terror. If civilians hadn’t been allowed to practice with military calibers, this might have never happened.
Making it easier to get ammo also means that the draft pool will have more shooters. Many people love to shoot, but would never sign up to go fight a war. But, you can bet that they’d do better in such a war if they at least knew the basics first before getting drafted and then given minimal training before being sent off.
Very Few Lake City Rounds Are Used For Evil
The other problem with James’ argument is that the number of 5.56 rounds being misused is vanishingly small compared to the many legitimate uses. Police use the round a lot, and police are almost always civilians. Good people use rifles chambered in 5.56 for personal defense as well, and both police and non-police civilians need to practice to be effective. Recreational shooting, plinking, target shooting and competition shooting all make use of the round (and contribute to the above section).
It’s also true that 5.56x45mm is useful for hunting. It doesn’t “explode the meat” like the shitlibs claim. It might not be a good round for big game, but for many other types of hunting, it’s both useful and a great choice, particularly with predators such as coyotes.
Do we want to drive up the cost of all of the above just so that a very small number of murderers don’t have access? Definitely not. They’d still find ammo, and the rest of us would suffer for James’ wishes.