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Ammunition

Since the 1960s, gun control supporters have tried to get one or another variety of ammunition banned, severely restricted, prohibitively taxed or excessively regulated, to discourage the acquisition of guns and undermine their use.

For example, though the Gun Control Act of 1968 preamble stated that the law was not intended “to place any undue or unnecessary Federal restrictions or burdens on law-abiding citizens with respect to the acquisition, possession, or use of firearms,” the law required purchasers of handgun-caliber ammunition and rifle-caliber ammunition that could be used in a handgun to sign ledgers documenting their purchases. Because the requirement resulted in a massive amount of paperwork that served no law enforcement purpose, Congress in 1982 rescinded it as it applied to .22 rimfire ammunition and in 1986, as part of the Firearms Owners Protection Act, rescinded it as it applied to center-fire ammunition.

In the 1980s, gun control supporters claimed they wanted to restrict new handgun bullets made of metals harder than lead, which had been invented to enable law enforcement officers shoot through walls and doors, but they instead pushed legislation that would have banned traditional ammunition manufactured with bullets made of lead, commonly used for self-defense, hunting and sports. The Departments of Justice and the Treasury, and the NRA, opposed the legislation and the NRA helped write the “armor piercing ammunition” law that Congress instead adopted in 1986.

In the 1990s, gun control supporters again proposed banning traditional ammunition, a move rejected by the Treasury Department. Separately, they also sought a 1,000 percent tax on 9mm, .25, and .32 caliber ammunition, a 50 percent tax on all handgun ammunition, a ban on mail-order ammunition sales, a requirement for a background check to purchase ammunition, and a limit on the amount of ammunition a person could own without an “arsenal license.” 

In February 2015, two years after failing to get Congress to ban the AR-15 and other general-purpose rifles, the Obama administration attempted to bypass Congress to ban the second most common ammunition used in the rifle. It withdrew the proposed ammunition ban after a majority in each house of Congress and over 80,000 Americans opposed the ban in letters and emails to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and Congress threatened to reduce the chronically problematic agency’s budget.

Gun control supporters quickly took advantage of the situation to again call for a ban on traditional ammunition, like the bans that Congress rejected in 1986, and the Treasury Department rejected in 1997. Meanwhile, gun control supporters are trying to get traditional ammunition banned on environmental grounds as well.

 

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NRA and CRPA Hosting Webinar Regarding Upcoming California Ammunition Background Check Requirements

Tuesday, June 4, 2019

NRA and CRPA Hosting Webinar Regarding Upcoming California Ammunition Background Check Requirements

On Wednesday, June 26, NRA and CRPA will be hosting a free live webinar discussing the upcoming ammunition background check ...

California: DOJ Submits Proposed Regulations Regarding Upcoming Ammunition Transfer Background Check Requirements to Office of Administrative Law

Wednesday, May 22, 2019

California: DOJ Submits Proposed Regulations Regarding Upcoming Ammunition Transfer Background Check Requirements to Office of Administrative Law

Beginning July 1, 2019, all ammunition transactions in the state of California will be subject to a background ...

Does Shannon Watts want a Ban on all Centerfire Rifle Ammunition?

News  

Friday, May 10, 2019

Does Shannon Watts want a Ban on all Centerfire Rifle Ammunition?

Shannon Watts has developed her persona as a “full-time volunteer” who wants nothing more than to bring “common ...

Breitbart  

Thursday, May 9, 2019

Bolsonaro Expands Brazilian Gun Rights with Executive Order

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro kept one of his campaign promises on Tuesday by signing an executive order to ...

Breitbart.com  

Wednesday, May 8, 2019

Shannon Watts Mocks NRA Opposition to Centerfire Rifle Ammo Ban

On Tuesday Shannon Watts used Twitter to mock the NRA’s opposition to a ban of centerfire rifle ammunition. ...

WTNH.com  

Wednesday, March 13, 2019

Lawmakers set to introduce gun control legislation requiring background checks on ammunition purchases

Several lawmakers are joining together on Wednesday in Washington, D.C. to talk gun control legislation.  U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal ...

Washington Examiner  

Friday, February 8, 2019

Shoot down a 50 percent tax increase on ammunition

Legislating a 50 percent tax on ammunition to decrease gun deaths in America is like forcing McDonald’s to ...

California: NRA and CRPA Attorneys Submit Comprehensive Comment Letter Opposing Proposed Ammunition Background Check Regulations

Tuesday, February 5, 2019

California: NRA and CRPA Attorneys Submit Comprehensive Comment Letter Opposing Proposed Ammunition Background Check Regulations

Ammunition sales and transfers in California will soon be subject to a complex and convoluted background check procedure ...

California: Deadline to Provide Comments on the Proposed Ammunition Regulations is January 31

Wednesday, January 30, 2019

California: Deadline to Provide Comments on the Proposed Ammunition Regulations is January 31

Tomorrow, January 31 is the deadline to provide comments on the proposed ammunition regulations submitted by the California ...

Stealing Rights and Property in Steel City? Pittsburgh Reportedly Considering Sweeping Gun Control

Thursday, December 13, 2018

Stealing Rights and Property in Steel City? Pittsburgh Reportedly Considering Sweeping Gun Control

The NRA has received copies of what are reported to be draft ordinances being considered by the Pittsburgh ...

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NRA ILA

Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the "lobbying" arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.