Michael Bloomberg backs a bill to ban online ammo sales
McCarthy and Lautenberg. via Carolyn McCarthy
3:47 pm Jul. 30, 20123
A bill sponsored by New Jersey Senator Frank Lautenberg and Long Island Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy that would effectively ban the online sale of ammunition has the backing of the nation's loudest gun control advocate, Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
“If the presidential candidates won't act, others will—including Senator Lautenberg and Congresswoman McCarthy, who time and again have shown their steadfast commitment to protecting American lives," said the mayor, in a statement.
The bill in question, called the Stop Online Ammunition Sales Act, would, among other things, effectively ban the sale of ammunition online unless the buyer is a licensed dealer; require dealers to maintain sales records; and require dealers to report sales of more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition within five consecutive business days.
Accused Aurora killer James Holmes purchased more than 6,000 rounds of ammunition on the internet in the months leading up to the shooting in the Colorado movie theater.
"The shooter was able to amass an arsenal of ammunition online," said Lautenberg today. "Online. Like you might order shoes or food or what have you."
In recent weeks, Bloomberg has seized upon the Aurora shootings as evidence that the nation's gun control laws are unconscionably ineffective.
The co-founder and funder of Mayors Against Illegal Guns, Bloomberg's organization has campaigned for gun control measures and supported candidates whose votes accord with its legislative goals. Once he leaves office in 2014, he's expected to lavish yet more time and money on the cause.
Last week, it was announced that Bloomberg was planning to hold a fund-raiser for Senator Scott Brown of Massachusetts in August.
Brown ran for Senate with the National Rifle Associaton's backing, and he opposes a national assault rifle ban, even as both his opponent, Elizabeth Warren, and Bloomberg support one.
Bloomberg explained his position by saying that, though Brown is "not good on guns generally," the senator cast a brave vote against an N.R.A.-backed measure that would have required states to recognized concealed-carry permits issues in other states.
The online ammunition ban is likely to garner support from some liberal Democrats in Congress and then go nowhere.
This is moronic. Tens of thousands of competitive shooters depend on on-line ammunition sales. While "1000s of rounds" may seem like an excessive amount to those completely ignorant of shooting sports, it is not unusual for competitive shooters to go through 1000 rounds in just a day or two. This is virtually impossible to do without on-line sales in most places. And because there are age limits on who can purchase ammunition, photo ID is already required, but may be sent electronically, so these sales are not "anonymous". This is just another back-door attempt to destroy legitimate gun ownership and use. How many rounds are fired in one of these mass shootings anyway? It's certainly a LOT less than 1000 rounds. Given that anyone will still be able to easily go to any Walmart and buy 200-300 rounds (completely anonymously) of whatever they want, how does this law do anything at all but hurt legitimate shooting sports and practice? And even if the Colorado shooter had not been able to get ammo, he would have just as easily been able to use the dozens of firebombs he easily constructed from everyday items you can get anywhere. Had he done that he probably would have killed a lot more people, and in a much more gruesome fashion. So this proposed law isn't about saving lives at all, but simply another pathetic attempt to exploit tragedy to push a losing political agenda.
Indeed this is very moronic, I know quite a few people that will go through 3000 rounds when they go shootings . I mean you spend 6-8 hours shooting on a range it doesn't take long to through allot of ammo or person going shooting with their friends could shot through thousands of rounds easily.
And what would this really do to a person that reloads ammo. So they try to block online sales of ammo, well then people will buy unloaded brass bullets primers and powder and load their own ammo.
What of the jobs in this country for all of the companies that deal mostly in online sales. This kind of bill would hurt alot of working class people.
A person that wants to kill will find a way,the mind is the most dangerous weapon of all for all of the "tools" that man has created came from the mind whether feeds mankind saves ours lives or can end lives. Most are only tool that without a mind for good or evil can do no harm.
A gun is only a tool they can be great fun to shoot, keep a family safe, put meat on the table, fight a war or keep the peace, commit a crime or slay the ones we love by itself it is only a hunk of metal, wood and plastics
A gun is no more dangerous than a car or a bus, a crazy man could just as easily rig a fuel truck and plow into a crowded sidewalk. I don't see them trying to ban gas sales in this country to stop deaths from automobiles.
If people want freedom of speech and freedom of religion the freedom to marry the person you want of the gender you want then the right to bear arm fall equally into freedoms of our great country.
It is greatest hypocrisy for us to try and pick and chose basic freedoms that other should have if we ourselves do not freedoms chosen for us.
It has all become a game of smoke a mirrors and hiding behind mantra, slogan, political party and political office, few of our politician can ever match what they say the believe with what they actually accomplish and truly perform by their deeds and votes in office. I guess the body politic would rather be patronized with false words and false speeches of change than to have an honest person stand and say what they truly live and truly will do.
@mgrismer
Yeah you are one wack dude. yet i think you are an honest one.
you are not using your glock to bring down a deer to feed the family. no way. Takes a rifle for that..
Guns make killing people a whole bunch more easy. THAT is the problem today. Mass shooters in America save up a little cash, get a hold of a couple glocks, giant ammunition magazines and kill dozens in a matter of a few hundred seconds. There is nothing that school could have done to stop the killing at Sandy Hook. Not A thing.
Access to semi automatic weapons cannot be as free and easy as it is today. These weapons need to be stored responsibly for starters. Mom Lanza, first to be killed by the shooter, allowed her offspring to have access to these guns. EVEN if she didn't intend.
Ammunition cartridge magazines have to be smaller. It's when they are reloading that they can be tackled. Glocks with 100 rounds at a time cannot be anymore. ONLY place for that is the firing range. The ONLY place.
And as far as harming working families, i know Twenty -Seven families in Connecticut tonight, and every single night for the rest of their lives, twenty seven families who will probably, maybe even to 100 percent of them , take smaller rounds rather than have this shooting of this type happen again, as it surely must.
"False speeches of change." You know, Australia got rid of tons of guns of this type in the 1990s. Now their mass shooting incidence has decreased. Further No other nation on earth has gun violence like the USA. NONE. Change must come to America. Otherwise, we will all be living every single day under the barrel of a gun.