Skinner Reintroduces Assembly Bill Heavily Regulating Ammunition Sales

>>CALLS FOR REPORTING LARGE SALES TO FEDS
>>”In California, it’s harder to get some cold medicines than ammunition”
ASSEMBLY | East Bay Assemblymember Nancy Skinner Monday offered legislation Monday that would deeply regulate the sale and purchase of all ammunition in the state.

“Gun violence is an ongoing, yet unnecessary threat in communities throughout California. As lawmakers, we need to do everything we can to stop this trend,” said Skinner. The bill, offered on the Assembly’s first day back in session this year, is co-sponsored by Oakland Assemblymember Rob Bonta.

The wide-ranging bill, AB 48, would require bullet buyers to provide identification, while ammunition sellers must be licensed by the state. Purchasing data would also be reported to the Department of Justice and large quantities of ammunition would be flagged. Also banned under the proposed bill is kits used to convert clips into high-capacity magazines like those used by the shooter in the Newtown, Conn. tragedy last month and other notable shootings around the country over the decades.

The legislation provision for notifying the government of ammunition purchases, specifically, is bound to upset strict adherents of the Second Amendment and anti-government groups across the state and nation.

AB 48 is a stricter version of a bill introduced last year by Skinner, which sought make it a misdemeanor to sell ammunition to those younger than 18 years old. That bill was held in the State Senate last August after passing the governance and finance committee in June.

In the latest iteration of the bill, Skinner hopes to equate the proposed regulations on ammunition sales to the current monitoring on sales of over-the-counter prescription drugs like Sudafed. “In California, it’s harder to get some cold medicines than ammunition,” Skinner said. “Something has to change.”

Bonta, who co-sponsored the bill, said his district centered around Oakland is no stranger to gun violence. “It’s simply unacceptable that a person can buy thousands of rounds of ammunition over a short period of time without being detected by law enforcement,” he said.