Trust me, Barack Hussein Obama and his minions are working long and hard on a way to remove firearms from the hands of Americans.  Any way.  By any means.

1. End of an Era: Last U.S. Lead Smelter to Close in December

From NRA-ILA.org:

In December, the final primary lead smelter in the United States will close.  The lead smelter, located in Herculaneum, Missouri, and owned and operated by the Doe Run Company, has existed in the same location since 1892. 

The Herculaneum smelter is currently the only smelter in the United States which can produce lead bullion from raw lead ore that is mined nearby in Missouri’s extensive lead deposits, giving the smelter its “primary” designation.  The lead bullion produced in Herculaneum is then sold to lead product producers, including ammunition manufacturers for use in conventional ammunition components such as projectiles, projectile cores, and primers.  Several “secondary” smelters, where lead is recycled from products such as lead acid batteries or spent ammunition components, still operate in the United States.

Doe Run made significant efforts to reduce lead emissions from the smelter, but in 2008 the federal Environmental Protection Agency issued new National Ambient Air Quality Standards for lead that were 10 times tighter than the previous standard.  Given the new lead air quality standard, Doe Run made the decision to close the Herculaneum smelter.

What is the immediate result of the shutdown to Doe Run?  Clearly, that there will be no more domestic manufacturing of ammunition involving lead.  Doing the Logical Extension: meaning that there will be a run on what little ammunition exists on the shelves in gun stores.

Which leaves, as an alternative, the foreign importation of lead.  But what are the strictures regulating the importation of lead?  Is is already outlawed or constricted?  Frankly, I do not know.  But I ask: was this a door that was already closed by the Obama Administration in anticipation of our current state?

A question.

BZ

P.S.
A thought in repose: was another reason for the 1.6 billion round DHS contract to ensure that many fewer lead bullets would be available to the public, allowing more governmental control of ammunition inherently?