Thanks to government regulations, the closing of the last U.S. lead
smelter and a push for "green" lead-free ammunition, ammo prices will
skyrocket. Does the Second Amendment threaten the environment?
Having been stymied by court defeats such as the Supreme Court's
deciding that the Second Amendment does indeed confer a right to keep
and bear arms on individuals throughout the United States, advocates of a
gun-free America and a disarmed citizenry are taking a different
approach: Go after the ammunition through regulations that stifle
domestic production and force the use of more expensive and eco-friendly
substitutes.
Expanded regulations issued by the Environmental Protection Agency
have forced the closing as of Dec. 31 of the country's last
bullet-producing lead smelter — a facility operated by Doe Run Co. in
Herculaneum, Mo., that first opened its doors in 1892. As a result of
the closure, a company press release notes, 145 Doe Run employees and
some 73 contractors will lose their jobs.
The Herculaneum smelter, according to the National Rifle
Association's Institute for Legislative Action, is the only one in the
U.S. that can produce lead bullion from raw lead ore and the components
for traditional lead ammunition.
The only alternatives, the institute says, will be to import the ammo components or use EPA-approved "green" ammunition.
The Arms Trade Treaty may be unratified, but it provides the
administration with a justification for restricting U.S. imports of
ammunition and components.
While there are a number of secondary lead smelters that recycle lead
from various sources such as car batteries, the net effect is that
prices will climb high enough, the administration hopes, to curtail gun
purchases and use.
The EPA in 2008 issued new National Ambient Air Quality Standards for
lead that were 10 times tighter than the previous standard. The Doe Run
Co. tried to bring the Herculaneum smelter into compliance but in 2010
realized the cost would be prohibitive.
It reached an agreement with the state of Missouri and the EPA to shut down the facility.
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