Interior Secretary Zinke strikes Obama ban on lead ammo

On January 19th, with less than a day in office, the Obama administration banned the use of lead in ammo and fishing tackle on federal lands. The move came without notice and stunned the hunting and fishing world.

What’s more, the radical, last-second order did not ask for input from “stakeholders” or anyone else prior to implementation. Instead, it looked a lot like more of the same regulatory overreach we saw regularly under Obama.

Secretary Ryan Zinke, the guy who rode a horse to his first day of work, brought that onerous stunt from the Obama regime to an abrupt end.

On his first day in office, President Trump’s new Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke reversed the Obama ban on lead ammo. The move comes as a welcome relief to the hunting and fishing communities.

Of course, the bird- and tree-hugging faction are crying like Chicken Little. They say the order reversing the Obama scheme to ban lead ammo and fishing tackle “could” result in millions of dead birds and sick families. Yeah, it could result in global warming, ozone depletion and nuclear winter too. The Hill has more:

[Former Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) Director Dan] Ashe’s policy banned the use of lead ammunition and fishing tackle on all FWS wildlife refuges that allow hunting or fishing, as well as in all other hunting or fishing regulated by the agency elsewhere.

It was meant to help prevent plants and animals from being poisoned by lead left on the ground or in the water.

“After reviewing the order and the process by which it was promulgated, I have determined that the order is not mandated by any existing statutory or regulatory requirement and was issued without significant communication, consultation or coordination with affected stakeholders,” Zinke wrote in his order.

Zinke also signed an order Thursday asking agencies within his purview to find ways to increase access to outdoor recreation on the lands they oversee.

“It worries me to think about hunting and fishing becoming activities for the land-owning elite,” he said in a statement. “This package of secretarial orders will expand access for outdoor enthusiasts and also make sure the community’s voice is heard.”

Gun rights advocates, sportsmen’s groups, conservatives and state wildlife agencies were united against the lead ban.

The Trump Administration continues work to unwind the Obama administration’s gun control agenda, slowly but surely. Watch this space.

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

48 COMMENTS

  1. Ok, so the Obama gun ban on veterans and the “mentally ill” is gone, and now this. Things are starting to improve.

    • …and the haters will still claim the Trump administration is doing nothing for gun rights.

      • Well, Stoner, this is only the second act of kindness he’s shown toward us, and there’s still more needed to get back to even Obama levels of infingement. I give the man credit, especially since this second move is purely Trump’s people as opposed to congress-driven like the SS law from the other day. He still has many levers he alone has control of with which to help us, and as he does, my desire to support him will thus increase.

        Today’s move means more to me than all his speeches, promises, NRA endorsement, kid’s gun interest, appointments, and especially “being better than Hillary,” combined. By a longshot. And all it took was an afternoon signature. Piece of cake (that was ours to start with)

    • By “improve”, you mean “return us to where had just been five minutes ago.”
      These were simple stroke of the pen corrections, too.

      What has Trump accomplished that actually moves the chains forward?

      What has Trump accomplished that required the expenditure of political capital?

      Haters gotta hate? Perhaps, but they’re not the ones in office with the power.
      Trump apologists should worry more about over-promisers gotta under-deliver, because he’s the one in office and who matters.

      • His SCOTUS appointment is a Constitutionalist, that’s one way to advance the ball.

        • That move is still defense. Trump hasn’t even gotten us to the status quo ante Obama on guns, and everything Obama did on guns was executive action.

      • I understand cynicism, but as I stated in another thread, it’s been just over a month. That’s it. The stuff that he’s done is “stroke of the pen” because as much as many in the gun community would like it (ironically), the POTUS isn’t a dictator and can only do so much. Nothing in the government moves fast. Congress will need to pass pro-gun bills for him to sign. That will take time.

        Now, if in a year and a half, nothing besides these executive orders have been dolled out regarding gun laws, then the time to become angry and dissatisfied will be upon us. In the meantime, the Trump haters need to get a grip. Keep the pressure on for sure, but understand this presidency is still in it’s infancy.

      • You either have no idea whatsoever happens in the political processes of D.C., hate yourself, hate America, or are a sovereign nation weirdo.

  2. Wait! Wouldn’t an obscene amount of lead fired into the air and ground help reduce the effects of radioactive fallout? I think so!

  3. “Zinke signed the order … overturning a policy implemented by former Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) Director Dan Ashe on Jan. 19 …”

    I have two concerns:

    (1) My understanding is that Obama issued an executive order to ban lead ammunition. This article says that the Fish and Wildlife Service Director issued the order. Which is correct?

    (2) My understanding is that the order which banned lead ammunition applied to all federal lands … including National Forests. Was my understanding also incorrect in that regard? Are all federal lands now open for lead ammunition?

  4. “They say the order reversing the Obama scheme to ban lead ammo and fishing tackle “could” result in millions of dead birds and sick families.”
    Always waving the bloody feather……….

  5. I don’t care if Trump personally signs Executive Orders to roll back gun control, or if he just appoints people who roll back gun control. Trump’s Supreme Court pick in Gorsuch is infinitely better on the 2A than anyone Hillary could have appointed. Trump signed a Congressional reversal on Obama’s Social Security gun restrictions. His Secretary of the Interior now just shut down the biggest impediment to hunting in our lifetime.

    I know a lot of pro gun people are upset that Trump’s not moving fast enough in gun rights. But those are 3 pretty big things to land in the first month he’s been in office. I don’t know whether the HPA or reciprocal carry will make it out of committee and pass the House and Senate. But I DO know for a fact our gun rights are being restored at a faster rate than anytime in my 33 years of life.

    • Exactly! Most people complaining are infantile mellenials who have to have things move their way RIGHT NOW. I can garuntee that under any other president, even GOP ones, other than possibly Cruz, gun rights would continue to be eroded, or, as in the case of most GOP leaders, simply held at the status quo, and largely ignored. Under Trump we’re actually going to see things get reversed on gun control. The very first time that’s ever happened, on a national level, anywhere, ever.

      • More like most people applauding ecstatically are a bunch of grey beards who think “FINALLY somebody is listening to me!”, and so they lap up these table scraps like its a smorgasbord of validation. Trump’s using you like so many wide-eyed, wide-mouthed Miss Universe contestants before you.

        • Sometimes JH’s comments are a little nuts. Some TTAG commenters have been hugely off. Many here thought Obama wouldn’t move to ban guns or restrict gun rights. Others thought Trump was a joke and couldn’t possibly win. Some bashed me for putting significant financial support into the Trump campaign, as well as volunteering.

          Dyspeptic Gunsmith, Ralph, Tom in Oregon and others give very sharp shooting and / or political advice. As to many others, I’m a lot less concerned about what they have to say.

  6. I’m glad he’s taking this step in the right direction, but now I fear us Montanans are going to face even more “everyone rides horses in Montana, don’t they?” questions. It has been over ten years since I rode a horse, dammit.

    • Time to get your butt back in the saddle, then.
      Hearkening back to my complaining in Liberte Austin’s article a few days ago… I like what I just read about making more land available to hunting, now if only some of that land was in Texas…

  7. Among things I never thought I’d see, a seal riding a horse to work would rank right at the top.

  8. Our nation is an infinitely better and more free place to live, thanks solely to one Donald J. Trump.

    He defied all the odds & both political parties, with help from basically no one.

    Mega-kudos, Mr. President, and thank you.

  9. you’d think someone with that last name would be friendlier to the non-lead ammo market /chuckle

  10. Well, Drew R., if you get to my neck of the woods, Sec of State Tillerman might lend ya one of his cutting horses.

  11. Read about this yesterday. Made my whole day!
    Where I plan my next elk hunt won’t be involving a new load for my .300 WSM.

  13. Zinke is a career climber with vaulting ambition. He’s only nominally pro-gun because he’s from Montana and he does/says what has to in order to get elected. His core principles lie elsewhere, though. Sure, he racked up some decent votes during his one term in Congress, but he’s taken a lot of less supportive stands on guns, too.

    He claimed in 2008 he was “undecided” on background checks on gun sales and gun shows, stronger state restrictions on gun, but then stressed his support for the right to own guns and ammo. In 2014,
    Zinke said the decision on background checks should be up to the Sheriff.

    John Kerry-like, Zinke supported gun purchase background checks, until he opposed them. In 2014, Zinke was criticized for waffling on the 2A with guns in school and .50-caliber rifles. He also said he supported some gun control measures.

    In the Montana state legislature, Zinke showed strong opposition to .50-caliber rifles. Gary Marbut, of the Montana Shooting Sports Association, noted the sudden change when he faced a Republican primary in 2014, “a sudden, election season conversion.”

    His grades from gun groups have been as low as a 42% rating and as high as a A- from the NRA and a B from the Montana Shooting Sports Association. The National Association for Gun Rights reports “Zinke is on record voting AGAINST your gun rights.”

    He’s doing what he needs to do as Interior Secretary, because there’s a spotlight on him, but don’t expect him to go all out advancing firearms freedom or anything else conservative. He’s a check-the-box, one and done kinda guy.

    • Yes I wish he were more 2A friendly be he’s still better than anyone Hitlary would’ve appointed.

    • Sounds like a legit assessment. No argument that we need to keep pressure on the Trump campaign to be / stay / advance pro gun rights. There are a lot of mushy establishment Republicans that need a pro gun push.

  14. I’ll only be satisfied when the plain English phrase “shall not be infringed” and “to keep and bear arms” are interpreted by a large majority of jurists, including a large majority on the Supreme Court, as a plain English phrase meaning what it plainly states. I don’t foresee that ever happening in my lifetime.

    What’s with all the “infinitely better than under Hillary” comments? Do you not know what infinite means? The pinnacle of the 2A position would be if all domestic federal and state arms control laws were eliminated by federal statutory preemption and Supreme Court ruling.

    I’ll only be satisfied that Trump has kept up his end of the deal when we are better off than we were when Obama was first elected. This would necessarily include the roll back of all Obama restrictions. It would need, in addition, something more, like the HPA, national reciprocity (House bill, not Senate), or at least two pro 2A Supreme Court nominees. A marginal or comparative improvement is not enough for me.

  15. On another tangent, there’s an idea that the long standing ban on lead shot for waterfowl has lead to a huge increase in waterfowl mortality because steel shot is so much less effective than lead shot, therefore leading to many more injured birds getting away and later dying.

    Anyone else heard of this?

  19. Since it bears repeating: Trump doesn’t need to lift a finger for gun rights to advance. It’s all about the people he puts into power. If you’re panicking about firearms not being on a this list or that, you’re doing it all wrong. Look at who he hires and predict policy from there.

  20. I am glad to see this gone but in a way I thought it was funny that the FUDD’s finally got a taste of what it’s like to be attacked by the left. They are always quick to join in any ban on firearms that they don’t approve of for hunting.

  21. You folks that want Trump to reverse 8 years of stuff in two months might want to get a grip on reality.

  22. This is great and all, but unless it is done through legislation, the next petty tyrant can come along and arbitrability change it. Of course for the children, because reasons.

  24. “On his first day in office, President Trump’s new Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke reversed the Obama ban on lead ammo. The move comes as a welcome relief to the hunting and fishing communities.”

    And, it sent the environuts and America-haters into a tizzy!!!

Comments are closed.