Dems Unveil Bill That Would Ban Online Ammo Sales

Bill would require a photo ID to buy ammo
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 31, 2012 12:00 PM CDT
Dems Unveil Bill That Would Ban Online Ammo Sales
Frank Lautenberg, center, leads a news conference on Capitol Hill, July 24, 2012, to criticize the sale of high-capacity magazines for assault rifles that are sold to the public.   (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

A pair of Democrats say they plan to introduce a bill that would effectively ban online ammunition sales by requiring buyers to show a photo ID when buying ammo, the LA Times reports. "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," Sen. Frank Lautenberg told reporters today, at a news conference with fellow Stop Online Ammunition Sales Act co-sponsor Carolyn McCarthy.

The bill comes, of course, in response to the more than 6,000 rounds of ammunition that accused Dark Knight shooter James Holmes is said to have purchased online. In addition to the photo ID requirement, the law would force ammunition dealers to maintain sales records and report sales of more than 1,000 rounds. McCarthy says ordinary citizens have to stand up to the NRA, which she says is out to "intimidate legislators and members of Congress." The New York rep's husband was killed and her son badly wounded in a 1993 shooting massacre. (More Frank Lautenberg stories.)

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