Albany County, New York Wants to Register Your Ammunition

Local Law “A”, a proposal that would regulate the purchase of ammunition in Albany County, introduced by Albany County legislators Phillip Steck (D), Douglas Bullock (D) and Wanda Willingham (D) is pending consideration in the Law Committee of the Albany County Legislature. Local Law “A” would require that a valid firearms license be shown when purchasing ammunition.  The law would also mandate that retailers keep a record of ammunition sales, including the type, caliber, and quantity of the ammunition, the make, model and serial number of the firearm it is for, as well as the purchaser’s name and address. 

As if that is not enough, Local Law “A” would also create a secondary method of gun registration for both long guns and handguns.  Local Law “A” has been sent to the Law Committee.  Congress has tried ammunition registration in the past, only to discover that it was not only ineffective for law enforcement, but also completely unmanageable due to the sheer volume of transactions.  Ammunition registration creates huge record keeping requirements and provides no useful benefits for law enforcement; which is why it was repealed at the federal level by the Firearm Owners Protection Act of 1986.