Both the left and the right have disputed Col. Allen West’s claim that President Obama is engaging in backdoor gun control by using the EPA to close down America’s primary lead smelter.

Col. West argued that without lead, gun manufacturers cannot make conventional ammunition, and accuses Obama of using backdoor gun control tactics to weaken the 2nd Amendment. Lawrence Keane, the senior vice president and general counsel for the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), which represents the ammunitions and firearms industry, told the Washington Times, “Manufacturers use recycled lead to make ammunition. They don’t buy from smelters.”