The San Francisco 49ers pledged $500,000 Thursday to secure a suppressor ban and other gun controls.
The push comes in the weeks after the Las Vegas attack. Suppressors were not used in that attack, but the 49ers are dedicated to banning the devices anyway.
According to ESPN, the 49ers presented the gun control pledge as part of creating a “more understanding and safer America.” The $500,000 will also be used to push a ban on bump stocks and armor-piercing bullets.
The ban on armor-piercing bullets is somewhat ambiguous, but appears similar to a ban which was unsuccessfully pushed by the Obama administration in 2015. The Obama-era actually targeted bullets that would have to be re-categorized as armor piercing in order to be banned.
On February 15, 2015, Breitbart News reported that the Obama-era push was directed toward M855 rounds for the AR-15. The rounds are fully legal under the auspices of the Gun Control Act of 1968, which bans handgun ammunition categorized as armor piercing. The Obama ATF attempted to apply the ban on handgun ammo to rifle ammo as well, even though the M855 round was one of the most popular AR-15 rounds for sporting purposes at the time. And it was precisely because of the round’s popularity that the NRA-ILA described the attempted ban as “a move clearly intended by the Obama administration to repress the acquisition, ownership, and use of AR-15s and other .223 caliber general purpose rifles.”
It appears the 49ers are ready to pick up where Obama left off, and they are joined by the Los Angeles Police Protective League, an LAPD union, in so doing. On October 26 Breitbart News reported that the Los Angeles Police Protective League is pushing for a ban on suppressors, armor-piercing ammunition, and bump stocks.
Suppressors are legal in over 40 states and are widely owned. Legislation to loosen the cumbersome acquisition process for the devices was shelved by House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) two days after the Las Vegas attack, which happened to be one day after Hillary Clinton criticized suppressors.
AWR Hawkins is the Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and host of Bullets with AWR Hawkins, a Breitbart News podcast. He is also the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.