California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is running for the Democratic
gubernatorial nomination in 2018, released a statewide ballot campaign Thursday
to require background checks for ammunition purchases.
“Why is it that we have background
checks for guns but not background checks for ammunition? It makes no sense,” Mr. Newsom said at his press conference in San
Francisco.
“California can set the tone for the
rest of the nation with these common-sense public safety provisions,” he said.
“We will lead the nation. We’ll be the only state in America that has
background checks on point-of-sale purchases of ammunition.”
The proposed 2016 initiative would
require instant background checks at the point of sale and ban the possession
of ammunition magazines with over 10 rounds. Given that California already bans
the sale and manufacture of magazines over 10 rounds, the proposal would give
California the toughest ammo restrictions in the nation.
New York also requires instant
ammunition background checks as part of its 2013 SAFE Act, but Gov. Andrew
Cuomo, a Democrat, suspended the provision in July,
citing an inadequate state database.
“New York tried. California will be the
first to do it,” said Mr. Newsom. “California will step up and step into
this debate in a meaningful way. And I’ll say this to the NRA with all due
respect that you can intimidate politicians — we’ve seen them. But you can’t
intimidate the public. That’s why we’re bringing this directly to the public.”
Efforts to restrict ammunition may sound
less alarming to the average voter than attempts to ban guns, but they’re no
more acceptable to gun rights advocates, who vowed to fight the proposed
California initiative.
“If Gavin Newsom wants to declare war on law-abiding gun
owners and Second Amendment rights, we’re certainly going to bring the fight to
him,” Firearms Policy Coalition President Brandon Combs said in a statement.
The Newsom measure also would require
owners to report lost or stolen guns to law enforcement, and would set up a
process to confiscate firearms from illegal owners such as felons.
Amy Hunter, a spokeswoman for the
National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action, said the effort to
restrict ammunition sales represents another step in the march to erode the
rights of law-abiding gun owners.
“California illustrates the true
gun-control agenda, which is the ultimate confiscation and banning of firearms.
If Gavin Newsom gets his way, the state will be the
next Australia,” Ms. Hunter said in a statement.
“His ballot initiative proposal does
nothing but prohibit access to the most effective methods for self-defense,
with no measurable positive effect on stopping crime or improving public
safety,” she said. “They can’t repeal the Second Amendment, so they’re trying
to chip away our rights until there is nothing left.”
Also on Thursday, gun control advocates
got a victory on the other side of the country as Virginia Gov. Terry
McAuliffe, a Democrat, signed an executive order that bans the carrying of
firearms in some state government buildings.
The order also sets up a joint task
force to prosecute gun crimes, requires the tracing of every gun used in a
crime and gives the attorney general power for more robust prosecution of gun
crimes.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/oct/15/background-checks-ammunition-buys-moving-toward-ba/?AID=7236
Comments
All government actions to restrict gun
or ammunition access are violations of the 2nd Amendment. The notion that government can harass gun
owners, gun ranges, gun and ammunition sellers, lead smelters, seize guns,
seize gun shop bank accounts or require registration or limitations on guns or
ammunition is ridiculous. We protest all violations of the US Constitution.
There are no constitutional gun laws. Impeach Obama
Norb
Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader
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