Democrats Push Bans and Reporting Requirements for Online Ammo Sales

AP Photo/Alex Brandon
AP Photo/Alex Brandon

Democrats are pushing legislation which bans online ammunition sales that do not include a face-to-face exchange of IDs and which requires ammunition dealers to report any purchases of more than 1,000 rounds.

The legislation–titled the Stop Online Ammunition Sales Act of 2015–is sponsored by Representative Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ-12th Dist.) and co-sponsored by Representative Frank Pallone Jr (D-NJ-6th Dist.), according to The Hill.

Pallone said:

Far too many times, we have seen the shocking images of unspeakable gun violence that could have been prevented. Our bill to limit the online sale of ammunition is a long-overdue common sense reform that I am hopeful will spark Congress to put aside party difference and come together to help prevent such senseless tragedies.

Pallone and Coleman are focusing on Aurora theater gunman James Holmes’ online ammo purchases as a selling point for their legislation. In so doing, they have overlooked the fact that Holmes passed background checks for the firearms he acquired and, therefore, would not have been prevented from ammunition purchases even if forced to show ID in a face-to-face manner.

In the end, the Stop Online Ammunition Sales Act would actually put ammunition dealers in the position of having to guess the intent of ammo purchasers and to force law-abiding purchasers to jump through even more hoops before getting the affordable ammunition they need for target practice, hunting, or self-defense.

The bill also overlooks the fact that Holmes’ attack took place in a gun-free zone, just like Adam Lanza’s attack at Sandy Hook Elementary, Aaron Alexis’ attack at the DC Navy Yard, and Seung-Hui Cho’s attack at Virginia Tech. In such attacks, a bulk of ammo is not nearly as important as shot placement, given the fact that the would-be victims are unable to shoot back because of Democrat-supported gun-free zone policies.

The Stop Online Ammunition Sales Act is also sponsored by Representative Donald Payne Jr. (D-NJ-10th Dist.), who said, “This common-sense reform would save lives by depriving violent criminals of a means of anonymously amassing ammunition without proper scrutiny.”

Follow AWR Hawkins on Twitter @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.

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