(Welcome, Balloon Juice comment thread readers. I think the post you're looking for is this one.)
This is getting attention in the wingnuttosphere:
Back Door Gun Control Moves ForwardThe fear of this imminent evil government takeover of your right to keep and bears arms has also been expressed in cartoon form. Take it away, Chris Muir:
There are numerous alarming reasons why the US government and the military have been buying up all the ammo. Here’s one of them. Obama and the EPA just shut down the last lead smelting plant in the US. They raised the EPA regulations by 10 fold and it would have cost the plant $100 million to comply. You can own all the guns you want, but if you can't get ammo, you are out of luck.
Remember when Obama promised his minions that he was working on gun control behind the scenes? Welcome to it. Now, all domestic mined lead ore will have to be shipped overseas, refined and then shipped back to the US. Not only will ammo now be even harder to come by, the demand and the process of supply will cause the price to skyrocket even more. And ponder this... there is an excellent chance that Obama will rig the market to where all ammo has to be purchased from a government entity instituting de facto ammo registration. So much for the Second Amendment....
So how exactly did this happen? A post at gunssavelives.net, under the title "Last U.S. Lead Smelter to Close in December Due to EPA -- Might Affect Ammo Production," directs us to this NRA press release:
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.Emphasis added.
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 manufactures 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....
All together now, boys and girls: Who was president all through 2008, and until January 20, 2009? Hint: not Barack Obama.
So, clearly, Obama used his sinister ability to warp the time-space continuum in order to make this happen two and a half months before his inauguration. Sneaky bastard!
California, of course, has passed a law phasing out the sale of lead hunting ammo in the state by 2015. The website of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife lists 32 manufacturers of lead-free ammo, none of them doing business at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. But don't be fooled by this Potemkin "free market," with its phony companies named "Remington" and "Winchester"! OBAMA'S COMING FOR YOUR GUNS, AND YOU WILL BE FORCED TO KNEEL!
