Free Republic

Sacramento, CA - The State Assembly has passed Assembly Bill 962, by a vote of 42-31. AB 962 now heads to the Senate, where it has been assigned to the Senate Public Safety Committee. The bill, sponsored by Assemblyman Kevin de Leon (D-Los Angeles), would make it a crime to privately transfer more than 50 rounds of ammunition per month.Ammunition retailers would have to be licensed, and would be required to store ammunition in such a manner that it would be inaccessible to purchasers. The bill would also require purchasers submit to fingerprinting, which would be submitted to the Department...

MONTGOMERY, AL (WSFA) - It's been a while since Hal Reinmiller saw boxes of ammunition on his store shelves. "I've had people call from out of state wanting to know if I've had .380 ammunition in stock," says Hal. He's the owner of The Arms Outpost on Atlanta Highway and says the shortage started when President Obama was elected. He says gun owners feared the new administration would tighten gun laws, and increase taxes on ammuntion. That's bringing more folks in to quickly stock up. "They started buying a case of ammo or two instead of buying a box or...

HAVERHILL — Keni Garcia told police he intended to use the 30,000 bullets they found in his car and home for target practice. That is hard to believe, the prosecutor at Garcia's arraignment said, because if he were to fire a gun for eight hours a day, it would take weeks for him to use all of it. Garcia, who allegedly bought thousands of rounds of ammunition and had 10,000 bullets in his car when he was stopped by police Thursday, was ordered held on $500,000 cash bail yesterday.

The right to bear arms is famously and specifically referenced in the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Alas, for advocates of the right, the language of the amendment gets tangled up in the regulating of militias and the interpretation of commas. Now a multistate movement is trying to find more robust constitutional support in another amendment, which makes no mention of weaponry at all. The 10th Amendment declares, "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." It inspired the...

ROSEBURG, Ore. -- Law enforcement has seen the same problem the general public has with trouble getting ammunition because of the shortage. Police agencies are in the same boat as everyone else, it's tough to get ammunition. "We've been told that we can be put on a waiting list, and I've had some distributors just laugh when I've called them to get inquiries about purchasing ammunition," said Roseburg Police Sgt. Aaron Dunbar The trouble is, officers need the ammo for their daily jobs, and in order to undergo training. Some agencies change out ammunition about once a year to keep...

Conservation Efforts Benefit from 31 Percent Jump in Excise Taxes Firearms and ammunition excise tax collections for fourth quarter of calendar year 2008. SALES REMAIN STRONG FOR MANUFACTURERS . . . Firearm and ammunition manufacturers paid more than $98 million in excise taxes in the fourth quarter of 2008, up 31.2 percent over the same period in 2007, according to figures released earlier today by the U.S. Department of the Treasury. From Oct. 1 to Dec. 31, $27.6 million was collected for pistols and revolvers, $35 million for long guns and $35.5 million for ammunition. Compared to the same period...

NORTH FORT MYERS — Tom Brennan finally found his bullets on Saturday. After waiting 20 minutes in line at a gun show, he handed over nearly $210 for 10 boxes of 9 mm ammunition. The price was almost twice what he’d normally pay at a retail store. Problem is, those retail stores can’t keep boxes of 9 mm ammunition in stock. When a shipment arrives, the boxes are snatched up immediately. “I’ve been going every day,” Brennan, 45, said. “I can’t get it by the time I get there.” His odds improved the moment he stepped inside the Suncoast Gun...

At Nicolet Rifle Club in Suamico, Joe Recka says some members are a little on edge because of President Obama's stance on gun control laws. "Our new president makes people nervous," said Recka. "Whether they should be or not." At the internet gun business, TheGunSource.com, hand-gun and rifle ammo has become a commodity. "We've been selling a lot more ammunition," said owner Eric Thompson. "We've changed our Web site to show what we have instead of what we don't have." Thompson also attributes the shortage, in part, to gun owner uncertainty about possible gun control laws and ammunition taxes. "With...

It may seem utterly impossible, but a fairly decent ruling regarding the Second Amendment came from a California court this week. The San Francisco-based Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals actually ruled that private citizens can challenge state and local gun laws under the Second Amendment. Jokingly referred to as the Ninth “Circus” Court of Appeals for its historically horrendous opinions (it’s one of the most overturned appeals court in the nation), it is stunning to read the majority opinions in the case, Nordyke v. King. The majority opinions read more like a historical chronology of gun rights produced by...

Some more ruminations on the ammo shortage... Die Time: In comments yesterday, Ed Foster mentioned "die time". This is exactly why you can't get, for example, .380 right now. At most manufacturers, the machinery they use to load .380 (which uses different "dies" to load different calibers) is only used for that purpose for a small portion of the year; the rest of the time it's used to load more high volume stuff, like 9mm. They churn out .380 for a couple of months, say, at the end of the year, and it's enough to hold the market over 'til...

Obama Proposes Signing Treaty To Ban Reloading -- Even BB guns could be on the chopping block Gun Owners of America Fact Sheet 8001 Forbes Place, Suite 102, Springfield, VA 22151 Phone: 703-321-8585 / FAX: 703-321-8408 When President Obama went to Mexico in April, he proposed that the United States sign the Inter-American Convention Against Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, Ammunition, Explosives, and Other Related Materials. Despite the fact that it purportedly deals with “illicit manufacturing and trafficking,” GOA is convinced that this convention defines these terms much more broadly and potentially presents serious dangers to Americans lawfully...

NSSF has received numerous calls regarding shortages of ammunition. Many of these callers have expressed concern that the supply of ammunition is not able to keep up with the current demand. In order to provide the best information possible on the issue of ammunition availability, NSSF interviewed ammunition manufacturers across the United States. Here's what we have learned: Is there truly a shortage of ammunition? The shortage of ammunition is real and is caused by several factors including: *A significant spike in consumer demand *Law Enforcement demand for training and readiness *Department of Defense demand for training and readiness *Higher...

We are in the midst of a national ammunition shortage. Provoked by an AP story attributing the shortage to military demand (i.e., Presient Bush), Bob Owens started writing about the shortage in 2007. Owens debunked the AP story claiming the military's consumption of ammunition was responsible for police ammunition shortages in the United States. Owens revisited the subject in February of this year, reviewing possible causes of the current shortage. Sales of ammo are booming, making it what Glenn Reynolds calls "an economic bright spot." Last month ESPN took a look at booming ammo sales, including an interesting Google Trends...

It's a nationwide issue, gun sales are up, and now ammunition is in short supply. Gun salesmen here in Acadiana say they've been turning customers down left and right. It's a problem gun shops can't seem to control, the demand is up, but there's a short supply. "We're basically out now, we are getting stuff in everyday. It's just not the hot ticket items everybody's looking for." said Heath Gajan Heath Gajan, a gun salesman at Lafayette shooters say the suppliers simply can't keep up, he says many don't realize that manufacturers only make ammunition during certain times of the...

Does anyone have information on the status of ammunition manufacturers (like an article to point out)? Are they hamstrung by something? The shortage (especially of 9mm) is so severe that I wonder if there is a supply-side problem. I know demand is through the roof.

The Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) has set a purchase limit of 10 cans of .30-06 surplus ammunition per year this month. But, the ammunition supply may not last that long. Buy it while its still available or before Barack Obama, Carolyn McCarthy, or Diane Feinstein step in. You must also show that you belong to a recognized shooting organization and proof of birth, such as a birth certificate. While we support selling Government surplus ammo to US citizens only, you have to show more proof of citizenship to buy ammo than a recent presidential candidate had to show. This is...

Firearms instructor Ron Herman can't seem to keep enough ammunition on hand for his monthly National Rifle Association pistol-training class. An increase in demand for ammo and resulting shortages have caused the group for the first time to re-evaluate whether it will be able to hold the gun classes, he said. "The ammo is being snapped up as soon as it comes in," the North Side resident said. "The potential for new gun laws has the Average Joe saying, 'I've got to get mine before the gun laws change and I can't get (ammunition).' "It's kind of like that run...

RICHMOND — Ammunition was running out so fast at a gun show late last year in Richmond that one man tried to grab a big can of .223-caliber bullets just as another guy was trying to pay for it. There was an argument. “One guy’s coming over his shoulder trying to grab” his can of 500 rounds of ammo, recalled Josh Golden, a gun and ammo dealer who was selling items at the Richmond Gun Show that day on Nov. 15. “They were his, and he was going to let him know that they were his.” In November, firearms transactions...

Ammunition update in California & What You Can Do! Please read and see how this will apply to all of us. Long Beach City Council to Vote on Ammunition Registration TuesdayMarch 24 Please Make Your Opposition Heard! On Tuesday, March 24, the Long Beach City Council is set to vote on whether to draft an ordinance to force ammunition sellers in Long Beach to record the identity of all ammunition purchasers, as well as other details of the sales transaction. These records would then be collected and used by the Long Beach Police Department to identify purchasers who are legally...

Many of you may have rec'd and email about the enactment of something called " Ammunition Accountability Legislation" that will ban the sale of ammunition. Is this just more internet paranoia or is there something to it??