WASHINGTON - August 28, 2010 - The EPA is apparently considering banning ammunition made out of lead, the idea being that it is an environmental hazard. One cannot decide whether this is an end run around the Second Amendment, or just another example of environmental lunacy.

"With the fall hunting season fast approaching, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under Lisa Jackson, who was responsible for banning bear hunting in New Jersey, is now considering a petition by the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) - a leading anti-hunting organization - to ban all traditional ammunition under the Toxic Substance Control Act of 1976, a law in which Congress expressly exempted ammunition. If the EPA approves the petition, the result will be a total ban on all ammunition containing lead-core components, including hunting and target-shooting rounds. The EPA must decide to accept or reject this petition by November 1, 2010, the day before the midterm elections."

Even better, bullets made of substances other than lead are considered armor-piercing cop killer bullets. In effect, the EPA will not ban the private ownership of firearms, a proposal that runs counter to the Second Amendment to the US Constitution and has proven highly unpopular, but will just ban bullets. Hence we can have all the guns we want. We just can't shoot them, either at targets, or at tasty animals in the wild.

The political tomfoolery of this proposal in an election cycle in which Amerikans are already incandescent against the government is simply mind-boggling. One can only imagine being a Democrat congressman or senator in a red district or state and hearing about this. The temptation to slit one's wrists at this point must be overpowering.

Imagine what Sarah Palin, avid hunter and sportswoman, will have to say when she hears about this one. It will not be pretty.