Buy Ammo... really.

***UPDATE***:
Hey Alaskans... this would include lead fishing weights that are found not only in sinkers... but lots of fishing things. (Link)

I try and stay on topic on this blog as much as possible. That being Defense of the Catholic Faith. Obviously over the last few weeks a lot of focus has been placed on Alaska Catholic Life and even Alaskan Politics. For that I apologize to the readers that find that topic to be mundane.

That being said, I have another off-topic post that I find is vitally important. Not so much to our Catholic faith, but our American Life. You see, I ran across this tidbit on another blog:

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.

The source of this article (link) is a gun & hunting rights website, but I found it over at Dad29. Now, I don't mean to be a conspiracy theorist, but November 1st? How convenient. On top of that the real problem isn't that I want to go around shooting lead. I don't care what the bullet is made out of, as long as it is effective (i.e. humane) and cheap. Bullets for some rifles can start at one dollar a round. If you are trying to become proficient so as to become a more humane hunter, the cost in doing so is somewhat concerning. Now imagine if you had to pay five dollars ($5) or even ($10) a round? How much would you go to the range?

The other concern I have is why does the EPA handle this? You see, the government knows it can't outright ban things: ammunition, cigarettes, fuel, etc... but they can tax the heck out of them making it impossible for most (not all) to buy. This is an important distinction, because most government officials don't really want to ban these types of things because they are consumers of them. So it becomes an elitist law, where it doesn't affect those that have very much, and only strains those that have not.

So for those of you familiar with conservative blogs that suggest the best way to protect ourselves from the impending doom that is American culture and society, you know what advice is coming:

buy ammo.