H. R. 2566: US AG Would Identify "Cop Killer Bullets"

[thallub]

The text of H. R. 2566 is now available at Thomas LOC. This proposed legislation would allow the US AG, assisted by DOD, to determine which bullets are "cop killer's", capable of penetrating body armor. This bill was proposed by US Rep. Spiers of CA. It currently has 17 co-sponsors.

Do not take this one lightly. The existing cop killer bullet law passed the US house by a vote of 400-21.



Quote:
Latest Title: To modify the definition of armor piercing ammunition to better capture its capabilities.
Sponsor: Rep Speier, Jackie [CA-14] (introduced 6/27/2013) Cosponsors (17)
Latest Major Action: 6/27/2013 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.



Quote:
SECTION 1. ARMOR PIERCING AMMUNITION.

(a) Expansion of Definition- Section 921(a)(17)(B) of title 18, United States Code, is amended--
(1) in clause (I), by striking `or' at the end;
(2) in clause (ii), by striking the period and inserting `; and'; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
`(iii) a projectile that--
`(I) may be used in a handgun; and
`(II) the Attorney General determines, under section 926(d), to be capable of penetrating body armor.'.
(b) Determination of Capability of Projectiles To Penetrate Body Armor-
(1) IN GENERAL- Section 926 of such title is amended by adding at the end the following:

`(d)(1) The Attorney General, in consultation with Director of Operational Test and Evaluation of the Department of Defense, shall promulgate standards for the uniform testing of projectiles against the Body Armor Exemplar.

`(2) The standards promulgated under paragraph (1) shall take into account, among other factors, variations in performance that are related to the type of handgun used, the length of the barrel of the handgun, the amount and kind of powder used to propel the projectile, and the design of the projectile.

`(3) In paragraph (1), the term `Body Armor Exemplar' means body armor that the Attorney General determines meets minimum standards for the protection of law enforcement officers.'.

(2) TIMING OF PROMULGATION OF STANDARDS- The Attorney General shall promulgate the standards required by section 926(d) of title 18, United States Code, within 1 year after the date of the enactment of this section.

(3) ASSESSMENT AND MODIFICATION OF STANDARDS- The Attorney General shall assess the standards every 3 years, or more frequently if the Attorney General finds that technological advances warrant doing so, and shall modify the standards as appropriate.

http://thomas.loc.gov/home/thomas.php

[Merl]

It expands on the construction requirement that identifies an AP bullet as composed of specific materials. This portion still stands as a blanket ban.

After this bill, an AP bullet is also one that can penetrate a vest using TBD requirements. This portion would ban essentially all high velocity rounds because you can bet the threshold will be a standard handgun rated vest. (lvl 2?)

Since 223 pistols are common now and .223 > .22 (the threshold in the law*) I think we can see the primary target.

* note that threshold may only apply to the jacket > 25% mass section.

[csmsss]

I'm sure we can rely upon AG Holder to make an objective, fair and reasonable determination of this.

Guffaw.

[rwilson452]

As you all should know. The "body armor" worn by LEOs in the field will only stop pistol ammo. Virtually every center fire rife cartridge will penetrate their vests.

[dakota.potts]

Are they going to ban the Tokarev too?

[carguychris]

Are they going to ban the Tokarev too?

That's a legitimate concern, along with its ballistic near-twins, the .30 Mauser and the 7.65 Parabellum (.30 Luger).

On a practical level, the result could be that all new ammo in these calibers would have to be JSP or JHP, which will still make many Tok shooters mad as heck because there would be no more big cheap spam cans of ComBloc surplus.

Another concern is that the legislation could ensnare cheap Russian steel-case ammo with so-called bi-metal FMJ bullets in many common pistol calibers. IMHO American ammo companies are likely to strategically fail to oppose- i.e. quietly support- such a regulation, because it would eliminate cheap foreign competition and require shooters to buy their products instead.

[ClydeFrog]

Will these elected officials hold any open hearings about how NO sworn US law enforcement officer has ever been killed in the line of duty with any KTW or "cop killer" round? None. 0.

ClydeFrog

[Tom Servo]

It only has 17 cosponsors, most of whom are the usual suspects. It's worth keeping an eye on, but I don't really see it going anywhere.

[seeker_two]

Who wants to bet that this.....

`(3) In paragraph (1), the term `Body Armor Exemplar' means body armor that the Attorney General determines meets minimum standards for the protection of law enforcement officers.

....will consist of an Underarmor t-shirt?....

[teeroux]

Our luck they will test a Level 1 threat vest that will only stop .22lr.

[ClydeFrog]

To my limited knowledge, the US DoJ funded NIJ or National Institute of Justice is tasked with doing T&Es and providing formal classifications of body armor & levels.
Wouldn't the DoJ go by the NIJ standards or collected data?
DARPA(the DoD funded R&D agency) may be doing the same thing with small arms/body armor.
I know the DoD & the armed forces thrashed the R&D of "DragonSkin" even though the inventor & engineer of milspec flack vests said it was great.

[teeroux]

This is the part we all should be afraid of bold mine.

the term `Body Armor Exemplar' means body armor that the Attorney General determines meets minimum standards for the protection of law enforcement officers.