Gun Control — The Key Word Is Control
The first days of the year were a little slow in the California ammunition sales market. As of January 1, 2018, non-FFL ammunition retailers had to have a California Ammunition Vendor License in hand to sell ammo. Except, it didn’t happen. The California DOJ (Department of Justice) didn’t get the new licenses out until AFTER the 1st of January, thereby making it illegal to sell ammunition. Some are pointing to incompetence by the DOJ for not getting them out before the 1st. I disagree. This is pure and simple hubris. They sent the licenses out after the 1st to prove a point. THEY and ONLY THEY are now in charge of ammunition in California. And this is only the start of it.
For a mere $198 annual fee plus the $78 cost of COE’s (Certificate of Eligibility) for each employee authorized to touch ammunition, retailers can continue to sell the ammunition they’ve been selling for years. California has ignored the numerous states and countries around the world who have implemented ammunition controls, then abandoned it because it was unworkable and completely useless. But California knows better than everyone else and is never deterred by logic, facts or the experiences of others. They have identified ammunition as the next big step in gun control, even if it will never contribute a single thing to public safety.
The conflicting elements of one of the Gunmageddon laws and Proposition 63 are still being sorted out, but as of now, anyone selling ammunition must have an Ammunition Vendor License. With very few exceptions, gone are the days of ordering bulk ammo at great prices from out of state and having it sent to your home. It must now go to your local FFL (Federal Firearms Licensee) or ammunition vendor for processing. And no, you can’t just buzz across the state line and bring it back yourself. All sales must be done in person in California.
But wait, it gets better. As the details are being worked out, there will be mandatory point-of-sale background checks and / or ammunition purchaser licenses kicking in. Buying a box of .22 LR to go plink will mean an online background check, similar to the current DROS (Dealer Registration Of Sale) for firearms.
What does this system enable? While not part of the law… yet, the system will have the capability to implement a number of things the gun control elitists have been after for years. Keep in mind these aren’t things my little mind dreamed up, these are all things that have been proposed already. They just needed a system to implement them.
Limits on the amount of ammunition you can purchase at any one time or within a time period. No more creating an “arsenal” or “stockpile”. Limits on the calibers you can purchase based on the firearms you have registered to you. No buying .223 when you don’t have a .223 registered to you. Limits on the type of ammunition you can buy. So-called “enhanced lethality” bullets, known as hollow-point to the rest of us, or any other kind of ammo, can be prohibited statewide with the click of a few keys. OR, maybe just for you if you reside in an area that prohibits them.
While all scary as hell, to me the most frightening part of this new system will be the ability to turn it off at any given time. Undoubtedly, this will be an online ONLY system, just like the DROS. The DROS system is ONLY available from 7 am to 11 pm. And when the system is down, firearm transactions are not allowed. There is NO manual process available.
Aside from the questionable logic and legality of not allowing firearms transactions after 11 pm and before 7 am, consider that the system can be shut down at any time for apparently any reason. I recall a few years ago DROS went down for users in a certain geographic location, even though their online access was still active for every other site on the Internet. The supposed cause was an issue with an Internet service provider… Yea…
So tell me, if the Los Angeles riots happened today, what do you think would happen? I’m pretty damn sure all firearms sales and deliveries within the region would immediately be shut down. And, with ammunition sales heading in the same direction, that would be shut down too.
Think it can’t happen? Do you recall the day in August 2011 when BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) turned off the cell phone service within the tunnels and stations to thwart protestors who were apparently using cell phones to coordinate their plans to disrupt service. BART Police ordered the shutdown of the BART owned systems over concerns for “public safety”. Remember, BART only allows free speech outside of the paid areas of the system. It didn’t matter that only a tiny fraction of the people using the system at the time were involved in the protest and the rest were using the cell phone service for lawful means, including having the ability to call for help in case of an emergency.
How does this relate to ammo sales? Easy… As soon as someone at DOJ decides “public safety” is involved, they can shut down their systems and not allow ammunition or firearms sales in the impact area.
The analogy to BART typifies how the state feels about you and your rights. Even though only a tiny fraction of the population will ever use firearms and ammunition to do harm to another, and people using these tools to lawfully defend their lives or the lives of their families VASTLY outnumbers any unlawful use, they are more than willing to sacrifice YOUR safety and rights with the flip of a switch in the name of “public safety”.
So… are you feeling safer now that you are better controlled?
Bob
#oddstuffing, #BillOfRights, #SecondAmendment, #GunControl, #AmmuntionControl, #BARTNoFreeSpeechZone, #mewe, #medium, #oddstuffing.com
