A Victory for the Second Amendment

U.S. News & World Report reports that the Environmental Protection Agency has rejected a scheme from left-wing organizations to ban the use of ammunition containing lead. This is a welcome decision, particularly since the EPA is a very radical organization that traditionally is willing to bend the law to advance ideological goals (proposing carbon dioxide regulations to push the global warming agenda through the back door, for instance, as well as regulating swampy land even though its jurisdiction applies only to navigable waterways). Kudos to the National Rifle Association and other groups that flexed enough muscle to scare off the bureaucrats at the EPA.

In a swift and unexpected decision, the Environmental Protection Agency today rejected a petition from environmental groups to ban the use of lead in bullets and shotgun shells, claiming it doesn't have jurisdiction to weigh on the controversial Second Amendment issue. The decision came just hours after the Drudge Report posted stories from Washington Whispers and the Weekly Standard about how gun groups were fighting the lead bullet ban. The EPA had planned to solicit public responses to the petition for two months, but this afternoon issued a statement rejecting a 100-page request from the Center for Biological Diversity, the American Bird Conservancy, and three other groups for a ban on lead bullets, shot, and fishing sinkers. The agency is still considering what to do about sinkers. The decision was a huge victory for the National Rifle Association which just seven days ago asked that the EPA reject the petition, suggesting that it was a back door attempt to limit hunting and impose gun control. It also was a politically savvy move to take gun control off the table as the Democrats ready for a very difficult midterm election.