A little bit about this subject of proposed legislation on ammunition:
Check out the links within the articles to get all sides of the controversy.
righttruth.typepad.com/right_truth/2009/01/ammunition-accountability-act.htmlJanuary 27, 2009
Ammunition Accountability Act
In short, the Ammunition Accountability Act would require the manufacturer to code all ammunition in a database on every ammunition sale. Doing so would track how much ammunition was purchased, by whom and what calibers. All ammunition that is not coded must be destroyed. The provisions of this bill would also charge gun owners an additional 5-cent tax on every round. This has been tried in the past, but with Democrats in the majority it may have a chance this time.
While a federal law is being considered by proponents of such laws, gun owners in individual states are witnessing what's referred to as Ammunition Accountability Acts being pushed through they're state legislatures by impatient lawmakers.
Ammunition Accountability, a liberal gun control organization, has developed sample legislation to achieve its purposes and reports that versions of it have been introduced in the legislatures of Alabama, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee and Washington, according to John Snyder. [snip]
... another attempt to chip away at the 2nd Amendment, it is just plain wrong. Since the 2nd Amendment defines a citizens "right" to defend themselves, with a gun, it clearly does not address ammunition. [snip]
"[Lawmakers] should ignore the media hype on the firearms issue and pay attention to what the public – their constituents – are saying on the matter,” gun rights expert John M. Snyder stated.
“According to an August poll conducted by Zogby International for Associated Television News, the American public rejects the notion that new gun control laws are needed by a two-to-one margin,” Snyder continued.
“Maybe the House of Representatives should have taken a reading of public opinion on this issue before rushing headlong without a roll call vote to pass a bill before the recess,” said Snyder, who is a firearms advisor for the National Association of Chiefs of Police. (News With Views)
"No later than January 1, 2011, all noncoded ammunition for the calibers listed in this act, whether owned by private citizens or retail outlets, shall be disposed." (USAvsUS.info)
Ithica Journal states "a national crusade known as the Ammunition Accountability Act is suddenly a legitimate threat.":
... mandate the engraving of a unique serial number on the base of each handgun and “assault weapon” bullet, and an identical number on the cartridge's case. The act calls for dealers of this “encoded ammunition” to record the purchaser's name, birthdate, drivers license number, etc.
All non-encoded ammunition must be disposed of prior to Jan. 1, 2011. The database and other expenses involved would be paid for by a special tax of a half-cent per round of ammunition sold.
The Ammunition Accountability site, which is pushing for this legislation, is here. They provide reasons why they believe this act should become law:
About Us
Ammunition Accountability is a newly forming group of ammunition coding technology supporters. Our group includes gun crime victims, industry representatives, law enforcement, public officials, public policy experts, and more. We are working together to pass legislation to make ammunition coding technology a reality.
Ammunition coding technology works by laser etching the back of each bullet with an alpha-numeric serial number. Then when a potential criminal purchases a box of 9mm cartridges, the box of ammunition and the bullets’ coding numbers would be connected to the purchaser in a statewide database. When a bullet is found at a crime scene, the code on the bullet can be read with a simple magnifying glass and then be run through a statewide database to determine who purchased the ammunition and where, providing a valuable investigative lead.
www.nationalgunrights.org/ammoaccountability.shtmlThe Ammunition Accountability Act's real story
Group tries to profit off gun control legislation
Ammo Accountability group has patents on technology used to enforce legislation they sponsor
A visit to the website Ammunition Accountability.Org -- they also run a mirror .com site -- would lead you to believe that they were a grassroots conglomeration of concerned citizens and civic leaders with an unimpressive, low-tech website.
That couldn’t be further from the truth.
The Ammunition Accountability Act and corresponding website are run by a company that developed the technology necessary to enforce the same legislation they lobby for. In other words, the founders of the Ammunition Accountability Act are pushing legislation which will have a direct and substantial financial benefit to them.
The legislation calls for each individual piece of ammunition produced to be etched or stamped with a unique serial number. This patented technology was developed by Russ Ford and his business partners Steve Mace and John Knickerbocker of Seattle, Washington.
Ford and his associates were unable to convince any ammunition manufacturers to use their technology, so they hired a lobbyist to push for state-level ammo tagging legislation.
Ostensibly Ford and company are billing this legislation as a way to stop violent crime by tracking handgun and “assault weapon” ammunition.
However, the sample text of their legislation -- provided on their website -- would outlaw the ownership of all non-tagged ammo of any caliber. Additionally, the legislation would require a state-run database to track each ammunition serial number and information on who purchased each round of ammo.
Not only does the legislation directly aim to financial benefit Ford and his business partners, but it will push most ammunition manufactures out of business, and make home reloading ammunition illegal.
Their legislation has been introduced in 18 states, however none of introduced pieces of legislation have gotten beyond committee hearings in any state. All the introduced bills died on their respective calendars when each state legislative session adjourned sine die.
Ammunition Accountability is little more than a couple of anti-gunners trying to cash in on hoplophobia.