North Carolina Republican Rep. Patrick McHenry introduced gun legislation in the House on Monday that would stop the Obama administration from attempting to ban ammunition in the future.
The measure comes after the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives announced last week that it is tabling its proposal to ban some armor-piercing ammunition,
The Hill reports.
The ATF announced in early March that it was proposing a ban on certain types of 5.56mm, or .223-caliber, rounds, a type of ammunition used in AR-15 rifles.
Specifically, only "M855 green tip" or "SS109" rounds that contain particular metal cores would be affected if the proposal went through.
The decision to postpone the proposed ban came after the federal agency said it "received more than 80,000 comments," which it said it plans to make public "as soon as practicable."
McHenry said the proposed ban was an assault on the Constitution and Bill of Rights.
He said he's "glad the ATF acknowledged the vast public and congressional outcry against this plan." However, he said that "they have still left open the possibility that it could be proposed again in the future, and many Congressional Democrats have called for just that."
"The Ammunition and Firearms Protection Act would put an end to this attack on our Second Amendment by ensuring this popular ammunition used by countless law-abiding American sportsmen remains available and not subject to any future ATF bans," he added.
Four House Democrats have introduced a measure that would ban the ammunition at issue in the ATF's proposed ban,
The Blaze reports.
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