June 16, 1995

Banning Guns by Banning Bullets

     Questions about the potential threat posed by criminals
using various kinds of ammunition to police officers wearing
protective vests have been debated extensively for over a decade. 
Since many members of the 104th Congress may need additional
background information, the study proposed in the Heineman
Amendment to H.R. 1710 is not objectionable in itself.  However,
NRA would suggest some critical points to bear in mind while
assessing this issue.

*    Does a problem actually exist?  Six levels of protective
     vests are currently available to law enforcement officers,
     and those in common use are sufficient to protect officers
     against the handguns they encounter in criminals' hands. 
     According to the nation's leading manufacturer of soft body
     armor vests, the chance of officers encountering ammunition
     capable of defeating commonly-worn vests is "remote." 

*    In fact, according to the latest data published by the
     F.B.I., since 1986, when Congress passed the federal law
     restricting certain, limited types of handgun ammunition, no
     police officer in the United States has been killed with any
     projectile fired from a handgun through the protective
     material of a soft body armor vest.  ("Law Enforcement
     Officers Killed and Assaulted: 1993," Uniform Crime Reports,
     Federal Bureau of Investigation)  

Proposed Armor and Ammunition Study

     If Congress is determined to commission a study they should
ensure that it is both comprehensive and scientifically
objective.  One way to do that is to direct the National
Institutes of Justice (NIJ) to form a blue ribbon panel to study
the issue.  The panel should include ballistics experts from
outside the government, representatives from both the ammunition
and body armor industries, and criminologists as well as NIJ
personnel.  The  panel should investigate the following areas:

*    Is there a danger to law enforcement officers from currently
     available handgun ammunition because of vest penetration? 
     What information is available from data on murders of
     officers?
     
*    Have there been any developments in the ammunition industry
     which might pose any new threats to officers?  Or, are
     proponents of sweeping new bans more concerned about
     projectiles which exist only in science fiction literature
     or in the reports of the less-skeptical members of the news
     media?

*    Is current soft body armor adequate?  Are shootings of
     officers attributable to inadequacies in the materials used
     or due to the inability of vests to protect all vital areas?
     
*    Are vests adequately used?  Are vests available to enough
     officers, and are enough officers wearing the armor that is
     available to them?  If not, what changes could encourage
     greater use of vests?

*    NIJ should also bear in mind the dangers of publishing
     findings that would serve only as a textbook to educate
     criminals about the protective measures used by America's
     police.  

     Finally, it is essential to remember that Rep. Charles
Schumer's original amendment, which would have given the Attorney
General new and sweeping authority to ban projectiles, is not
about protecting police officers.  It's an attempt by Congressman
Schumer to ban guns by banning bullets.  If enacted, this
amendment would have given the most anti-gun administration in
the history of our Nation the power to ban virtually any handgun
or centerfire rifle ammunition.  

     That's why it's critical to remember that the real problem
is not with so-called "cop-killer bullets" but with the cop-
killers themselves.  Persons with prior criminal histories are
involved in the majority of killings of law enforcement officers.
During the last ten years, 73% of those involved in officer
killings had prior criminal arrests, 56% had been convicted of
criminal offenses, and 23% were actually on parole or probation
when the officers were killed.  And that's a problem that the
Congress and many state legislatures are really working to solve.
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