On Monday, Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) and Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY) proposed a bill that would restrict the online sale of ammunition to anyone but licensed dealers and anyone who can present a photo ID, which would act as a proxy ban on online and mail order ammo purchases.
As Josh Smith of the National Journal explains:
The bill, titled the Stop Online Ammunition Sales Act, would effectively ban the online sale of ammunition to anyone other than licensed dealers by requiring a check of photo I.D., which is difficult if not impossible over the Internet. It would also require anyone selling ammunition to be licensed, to keep records, and to report any sale of more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition.
At a gun-control event in Manhattan, Se. Lautenberg explained the rationale for his bill:
If someone wants to purchase deadly ammunition, they should have to come face-to-face with the seller. It’s one thing to buy a pair of shoes online, but it should take more than a click of the mouse to amass thousands of rounds of ammunition.
The bill would also require dealers to report the sale of anyone purchasing more than 1,000 rounds of ammo within five business days.
The measure comes in the wake of reports that the alleged mass murderer in Aurora, Colorado, purchased over 6,000 rounds of ammo online.
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