NSSF Files Motion to Dismiss Lawsuit against Traditional Ammunition

NEWTOWN, Conn. — The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), the trade association for the firearms, ammunition, hunting and shooting sports industry, today filed a motion to dismiss a second lawsuit brought by the radical anti-hunting Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) and six other groups demanding the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ban commonly used traditional ammunition containing lead components, representing 95 percent of the ammunition sold in the United States today. The suit is before the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

The EPA already has twice denied attempts by CBD to have the agency ban traditional ammunition, noting correctly that it does not have the authority to regulate traditional ammunition under the Toxic Substances Control Act. The Court has already dismissed an earlier case brought by CBD seeking the same relief.

The CBD’s transparent goal in petitioning the EPA and repeatedly filing lawsuits is to end hunting in America by banning the ammunition millions of hunters and shooters choose to use safely and responsibly.

“There is quite simply no sound science that shows the use of traditional ammunition has harmed wildlife populations or that it presents a health risk to humans who consume game taken with such ammunition,” said Lawrence G. Keane, senior vice president and general counsel for NSSF. “Banning traditional ammunition would cost tens of thousands of jobs in American and destroy wildlife conservation that is funded in part by an 11 percent excise tax on the sale of ammunition. The protection and management of wildlife is properly handled the professional biologists in the state fish and game agencies as it has been for over a hundred years.

“This second frivolous lawsuit, which is essentially the same as the one dismissed last year, is equally without merit. This is a waste of taxpayers’ dollars and EPA resources in having to defend a baseless lawsuit. The suit should be dismissed with prejudice to discourage future litigation of a similar nature.”

Organizations that joined CBD in its lawsuit were the Cascades Raptor Center of Oregon, the Loon Lake Loon Association of Washington, Preserve Our Wildlife of Florida, Tennessee Ornithological Society, Trumpeter Swan Society and Western Nebraska Resources Council.

Learn more about traditional ammunition.

About NSSF
The National Shooting Sports Foundation is the trade association for the firearms industry. Its mission is to promote, protect and preserve hunting and the shooting sports. Formed in 1961, NSSF has a membership of more than 7,000 manufacturers, distributors, firearms retailers, shooting ranges, sportsmen’s organizations and publishers. For more information, log on to www.nssf.org.