California will soon become the first state to ban hunting with lead bullets, but a nationwide ban recently died a quiet death, giving the National Shooting Sports Foundation a somewhat mixed success record on one of its signature issues.

Scientists, environmentalists and public health advocates have long urged public officials to ban the use of lead in making ammunition because of the element's health effects on both wildlife and human populations, Newsweek magazine reported. Gun manufacturers—represented by NSSF—have opposed such bans, saying such policies would cause ammunition prices to skyrocket. The association also questions the science behind the bans.

California is phasing out lead ammunition as part of a movement that started with efforts to protect the endangered California condor. The birds ingest potentially lethal doses of lead when they devour animals killed with lead bullets.

Former President Barack Obama also enacted a ban on lead-based ammunition and fishing tackle on federal lands, but the Trump administration revoked the order, saying it was created without sufficient consultation with affected stakeholders.

The reversal represented a policy victory for NSSF, which had urged White House officials to dispense with the ban on federal lands.

"The timing of the (Obama) order, on literally the last day of the administration, tells you everything you need to know about the political nature of the order," Lawrence Keane, senior vice president of the NSSF, told Newsweek. http://bit.ly/2rpjFgg

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