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    Lake City Multistate Letter - FINAL

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    Jordan Conradson
    The attorneys general of 20 states wrote to the Director of the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention to express concern about military-grade ammunition manufactured at the Lake City Army Ammunition Plant being sold commercially and used in many mass shootings. They asked for an investigation into how this occurred and recommendations to prevent military ammunition from entering civilian hands in the future. The letter cited several recent mass shootings that used Lake City ammunition and noted this ammunition was intended for military use.

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    Lake City Multistate Letter - FINAL

    Uploaded by

    Jordan Conradson
    18K views4 pages
    The attorneys general of 20 states wrote to the Director of the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention to express concern about military-grade ammunition manufactured at the Lake City Army Ammunition Plant being sold commercially and used in many mass shootings. They asked for an investigation into how this occurred and recommendations to prevent military ammunition from entering civilian hands in the future. The letter cited several recent mass shootings that used Lake City ammunition and noted this ammunition was intended for military use.

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    Lake City Multistate Letter- FINAL[1]

    Original Title

    Lake City Multistate Letter- FINAL[1]

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    The attorneys general of 20 states wrote to the Director of the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention to express concern about military-grade ammunition manufactured at the Lake City Army Ammunition Plant being sold commercially and used in many mass shootings. They asked for an investigation into how this occurred and recommendations to prevent military ammunition from entering civilian hands in the future. The letter cited several recent mass shootings that used Lake City ammunition and noted this ammunition was intended for military use.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    18K views4 pages

    Lake City Multistate Letter - FINAL

    Uploaded by

    Jordan Conradson
    The attorneys general of 20 states wrote to the Director of the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention to express concern about military-grade ammunition manufactured at the Lake City Army Ammunition Plant being sold commercially and used in many mass shootings. They asked for an investigation into how this occurred and recommendations to prevent military ammunition from entering civilian hands in the future. The letter cited several recent mass shootings that used Lake City ammunition and noted this ammunition was intended for military use.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    of 4

    STATE OF NEW YORK

    OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

    LETITIA JAMES
    ATTORNEY GENERAL EXECUTIVE OFFICE

    January 9, 2024

    Via Email and U.S. Mail

    Stefanie Feldman
    Director, White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention
    1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
    Washington, DC 20500

    RE: Manufacture and Sale of Military-grade Ammunition at the Lake City Army Ammunition Plant and its
    Use in Mass Shootings

    Dear Director Feldman,

    We write on behalf of the States of New York, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Delaware, the District
    of Columbia, Hawai‘i, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey,
    New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington (the “States”) to express concern about recent
    reports that billions of rounds of military-grade ammunition manufactured at the Lake City Army Ammunition
    Plant have been sold on the commercial market, leading to their use in many of the most tragic mass shootings
    in recent history. We ask your Office to conduct an investigation into the contracting processes that led to this
    situation, and to take action to ensure that military-grade and military-subsidized ammunition stays out of
    civilian hands.

    According to recent reports, the ammunition made at Lake City for our military has been sold to civilians
    in mass quantities, leading to these bullets being used in mass shootings, including a shooting in which three
    law enforcement officers were killed and multiple school shootings. 1 Lake City rounds have become the
    ammunition of choice for use in mass shootings, including:

    • The Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, FL, in which 17 children and adults
    were murdered and 17 children and adults were wounded;
    • The Tree of Life Synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh, PA, in which 11 people were murdered as they gathered
    for Shabbat morning service and Torah study, and an additional six were wounded;
    • The Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, TX, in which 19 elementary school students and two of their
    teachers were murdered, and an additional 17 people were wounded; and

    1
    See, e.g., Ben Dooley and Emily Rhyne, Army Ammunition Plant Is Tied to Mass Shootings Across the U.S., N.Y Times, Nov. 12,
    2023, at A1.

    28 LIBERTY STREET, NEW YORK, NY 10005 ● PHONE (212) 416-8050 ● WWW.AG.NY.GOV


    • The racist massacre at a supermarket in Buffalo, NY, in which 10 people were murdered and three were
    wounded.

    The shooter in the Buffalo massacre discussed Lake City ammunition as “the best barrier penetration ammo I
    can get.” Compounding the horror, the bullets used in this violence were subsidized by American taxpayers, as
    the federal government has apparently invested more than $860 million to improve production.

    Ammunition from Lake City is manufactured for military use and does not belong in our communities.
    Federal courts have repeatedly noted the military nature of 5.56-millimeter rounds, 2 which are used in military-
    issued rifles, such as the M-16. Military-style weapons – and the ammunition specifically manufactured for
    them – should be limited to military use. Even if military-grade ammunition were appropriate for the civilian
    market, its sale to private parties should not be subsidized by taxpayer dollars.

    In the short term, we ask your Office to investigate the contracting and manufacturing practices that led
    to so many billions of military-grade rounds being sold into our communities, and to issue a public report with
    recommendations about how to end the diversion of military ammunition into civilian hands. In the long term,
    we ask the White House to ensure that future production contracts prohibit the sale of military weapons and
    ammunition to civilians.

    The States recognize the critical importance of military readiness in an uncertain world, and of making
    sure that the military has adequate supplies and reserve production capacity in order to meet its needs in the
    event of a crisis. Nonetheless, the federal government can and must do more to ensure that weapons made for
    our military do not take the lives of innocent civilians at home, and that our tax dollars do not subsidize crime
    and violence or otherwise perpetuate the epidemic of gun violence in America. We salute President Biden for
    the creation of the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention, and we ask you to take appropriate action.

    Sincerely,

    Letitia James
    Attorney General
    State of New York

    Kris Mayes Rob Bonta


    Attorney General of Arizona Attorney General of California

    2
    See, e.g., Liberty Ammunition, Inc. v. United States, 835 F.3d 1388 (Fed. Cir. 2016) (discussing “military ammunition, particularly
    the Army standard-issue 5.56 mm round”); United States v. Rodriguez-Reyes, 925 F.3d 558, 568-69 (1st Cir. 2019) (discussing “an
    assault rifle, with accepts 5.56 millimeter military ammunition”).
    William Tong Kathleen Jennings
    Attorney General of Connecticut Attorney General of Delaware

    Brian C. Schwalb Anne E. Lopez


    Attorney General for the District of Columbia Attorney General of Hawai’i

    Kwame Raoul Aaron M. Frey


    Attorney General of Illinois Attorney General of Maine

    Anthony Brown Andrea Joy Campbell


    Attorney General of Maryland Attorney General of Massachusetts

    Dana Nessel Keith Ellison


    Attorney General of Michigan Attorney General of Minnesota

    Aaron D. Ford Matthew J. Platkin


    Attorney General of Nevada Attorney General of New Jersey
    Raúl Torrez Ellen F. Rosenblum
    Attorney General of New Mexico Attorney General of Oregon

    Peter Neronha Charity R. Clark


    Attorney General of Rhode Island Attorney General of Vermont

    Bob Ferguson
    Attorney General of Washington

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