The transaction was fully legal: No Colorado state or national law prohibits or tracks the sale of ammunition.
Two Democratic lawmakers from New Jersey believe that needs to change. Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg and Rep. Carolyn McCarthy are introducing this week the Stop Online Ammunition Sales Act, which would prohibit the anonymous purchase of ammunition and therefore effectively ban the online sale of ammo.
“If someone wants to purchase deadly ammunition, they should have to come face-to-face with the seller,” said Lautenberg in a statement. “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. This legislation is a simple common-sense step that would put safeguards in place to detect suspicious activity, helping to prevent the sale of ammunition to a terrorist or the next would-be mass murderer.”
The Stop Online Ammunition Sales Act has four main components:
- Anybody selling ammunition would have to be a licensed dealer.
- Ammunition buyers who are not licensed dealers have to show photo identification (effectively banning online purchases, except in the case of “click-and-mortar” shops).
- Ammunition dealers would have to keep a record of every sale.
- Ammunition dealers would have five days to report a sale of more than 1,000 rounds to authorities.
Some politicians, commentators and citizens have called for tighter gun and ammunition control laws in the wake of the Aurora shooting. Others have dismissed those arguments, claiming the shooter would have found a way to strike even with stricter laws.
